The Ether Conflict
Chapter 34: Change of Plans
7th of July, 2 Y.A
In a forest near Ether Force's Main Base
In a wide dirt road that passes between the trees of an unknown forest residing near the Ether Force's main base, a tank slowly advances on it, its size making it difficult to maneuver and not hit the trees next to it. Painted with a camouflage pattern in the colors of dark pink, dark purple and dark violet, as well painted in the hull's frontal, upper plate with a chibi bunny that has two evil, red eyes and holds a pair of knives, the tank stands out in the green foliage like a sore thumb, making it an easy target. Its massive turret keeps traversing from left to right, the two 130mm cannons that it houses silently scanning the environment in front of them. Normally on the sides of the turret, two belt-fed M134 Miniguns hang on metal supports, which for now are folded on its top in order for the tank to fit on the dirt road. Despite this, the Miniguns can still move around, scanning the trees for any hidden enemies. Inside the tank are six girls, namely the members of Ooarai's Rabbit Team.
"This is boring..." Karina says from the driver's seat, lazily looking at the road in front of her through her vision ports. "This tank is slow and sluggish!"
"Don't complain, Karina," Azusa says as she looks through her cupola's vision ports, in her thighs lying a PDA that controls the remotely controlled .50 cal machine gun that is in front of her cupola. "It might be slow and sluggish, but it has a lot of armor."
"And two guns, like our M3 Lee!" Aya says from her position, looking through her ERGS (Enhanced Reality Gunner Sight), which displays a variety of information on it, such as shell path based on weather, wind, inclination and other variables, dispersion values for the shells, as well as highlighting with red the silhouette of enemy vehicles when they get spotted by the tank's automated laser rangefinder. "The only bad thing is that we can't move them independently."
Behind the gun breeches of the two cannons stands Saki and Ayumi, having taken the role of loaders for them.
"And the tank is fairly spacious," Ayumi says as she stands next to the breach. "Plus, the ammo racks are right behind us. Though, the shells are quite heavy, especially since I'm used in loading 75mm ones."
Saki remains silent as always, gazing into the side of the turret with an emotionless expression.
"But won't it be really dangerous if we hit someone with these big cannons?" Yuuki asks from her seat, which is next to Aya. On her hands she holds a PDA that controls the two Miniguns, the words "A.I. Assistance On" flashing on the screen to indicate that the onborad computer is currently controlling them.
"Mr. Mannheim said that the rounds he gave us, as well as the special ammunition the others use, are like Senshadou rounds, meaning they are weaker than their normal counterparts,"Azusa says as she looks at a screen in front of her that shows where the designated targets that have been found from the laser rangefinder are relative to the tank's position. "He said that if one of the munitions has enough power to destroy its target, said munition will disintegrate and cast a barrier over the target to signify it has been eliminated. So everything should be relatively safe."
"But the whole stuff with Ether sure is mind-boggling," Yuuki says as she looks on the camera feeds of her Miniguns in the PDA's screen. "You can do a lot of weird things with it. Not to mention our tank runs on it."
"It's like magic!" Karina says enthusiastically.
Boom
Ding
As a shell hits the tank's frontal, upper hull plate and bounces off it, the onboard computer immediately finds the enemy tank by calculating the shell's path based on the angle it hit the armor, and designates it using the laser rangefinder.
"Aya, new contact, 40 degrees to our right, distance 100 meters!" Azusa says as a small rectangle appears in the screen in front of her, showing the angle and distance of the enemy based on her tank.
As Aya starts rotating the massive turret to bear the cannons upon the enemy, Azusa uses the machine gun's camera to take a better look.
"It looks like Hippo Team's tank!" she informs the others, spotting the characteristically long hull of it and its wheels, since it faces them on an angle from within the forest. It is painted with a woodland pattern camouflage. On the turret's left side is painted the Iron Cross, while on the right is painted an Aquila (Roman Eagle) with the letters "SPQR" written underneath it. On the right side of the hull, several crests of Japanese clans are painted with black paint, as well a chibi hippopotamus at the front of the hull.
"Karina, start moving backwards! Aya, fire one cannon at a time to keep a continuous rate of fire! Yuuki, use the Miniguns to mow down the trees and make room for the cannons!" Azusa orders as another round strikes the side of the turret but ricochet's because of the angle it hits the armor.
"Roger!" everyone responds. Yuuki presses her PDA's screen and disables the AI's assistance, taking manual control of them and guiding their aim with her fingers. As the barrels start spinning and dishing round after round, completely cutting some of the trees in half, pieces of wood flying everywhere and trunks falling to the ground, Hippo Team's tank uses its smoke dischargers, creating a thick smokescreen between them and Rabbit Team.
"Yuuki, stop using the Miniguns," Azusa says through the intercoms and Yuuki obliges, putting them back in the onborad computer's control.
"What do we do now?" Karina asks, their tank still going in reverse, albeit very slowly.
"Karina, stop the tank. Aya, aim at their last known location."
As the tank stops moving, only the sound of its rotating turret echoes inside the crew compartment. Aiming where Hippo Team was last seen, as indicated by a bleeping red dot on her sight, Aya speaks up.
"I'm ready to fire," she says, waiting for Azusa's command to pull the trigger.
An eerie silence descends for a second as Azusa confirms that the cannons are indeed aimed at Hippo Team's last known location by looking at the screen in front of her.
"Fire both cannons," she orders.
Breakline-
"To think that our Panzerkampfwagen IX Legionnaire would be unable to penetrate Rabbit Team's Tank Hunter," Erwin says with a thoughtful expression as she watches the smokescreen through her vision port at the front of the vehicle. Next to her is a screen that shows a bar with a percentage below it. "And our OCU is 54% charged, so we can't use it again."
"Then should we retreat for now?" Oryou asks from the driver's seat, which is next to Erwin.
"We can put up another smokescreen and try to flank them," Caesar suggests, she, too, watching through the cupola's vision ports the thick, gray smoke that's a few meters in front of her tank. "We have spent only half our smoke charges."
"If we can get their rear or their sides, I'm sure our 120mm shells can go through their heavy armor," Saemonza says, still looking through her AVS (Advanced Vision Sight), using thermal imaging to look through the smoke.
"Then lets go with that," Erwin says, but Saemonza quickly speaks up.
"They are aiming at us!" she says as she spots the huge tank's cannons resting their aim on their direction.
"They can see us through the smoke!?" Caesar says in shock as Erwin turns to Oryou.
"Move, now!" she yells and Oryou wastes no time at all, pressing the gas pedal to the max. The tank manages to clear the line of fire in the nick of time, as two massive roars thunder through the forest and two huge shells fly through the smoke, barely missing them and passing through the trees that were behind them.
"That was close," Saemonza comments as she fires through the smoke, the shell getting lost in the smokescreen and a faint sound of metal hitting metal echoing between the trees. Moving forwards far enough so that the smokescreen no longer covers them, they spot the huge tank pointing its turret at their previous location and its rear being towards them.
"Oryou, turn right and make your way towards the dirt road! Saemonza keep aiming at Rabbit's tank and launch the rest of the smoke when I tell you!" Caesar says as the Tank Hunter starts rotating its turret to aim at the Legionnaire, but not its hull, since the dirt road is not wide enough to reliably rotate it without hitting any trees.
Two more thunderous roars echo through the forest as another pair of shells barely miss the tank's hull, crashing through trees once again. Closing the distance to about 50 meters, Rabbit Team's tank starts moving forward in an attempt to either find a place where they can rotate their tank, or exit the forest.
"Saemonza, now!" Caesar says as their tank exits on the road and Saemonza launches the remaining smoke, with a thick smokescreen immediately forming. "Oryou, turn left hard!"
Oryou complies and turns the driving wheel as much as she can, causing the tank to drift to a stop.
As Saemonza rotates the turret and fires a shell into the smokescreen to hit Rabbit team, two shells exit through it, and upon contact with their tank's hull, disintegrate, encasing it inside a green barrier.
"They got us," Erwin says as she slumps on her seat, a cocky smile on her face. "But we'll get them next time."
"We might have hit them too," Oryou says, and as the smokescreen dissipates, they spot the huge tank encased in a green barrier like their own.
"Target is down," Saemonza says as she pulls back from her sight. Caesar opens her cupola's hatch and pulls herself halfway through it, looking at Azusa who has done the same.
"Are you okay girls?" she hears her shout, so she responds.
"Yes!"
"To all teams, cease training and report to the Garage Depot immediately," Yuki's voice echoes through Caesar's headset, and as if on cue, the green barrier around them immediately disappears.
"Oryou, take us back to the garage," Caesar says as she dives back inside the tank.
"Something happened?" Saemonza asks, looking at her commander with only her right eye, since she mostly keeps her left one closed.
"Yuki said to stop the training match and return to the garage, though she didn't say why."
"Maybe something serious happened?" Erwin suggests.
"We'll know soon enough," Caesar says.
Half an hour later, Ether Force's Underground Garage
By the time all the girls had returned to the garage, Yuki was already waiting for them in it, along with Kōrino and Kasai. Because of that, the girls didn't have time to change from their uniforms, which were colored with Blackout's signature black and had the logo of their respective team on the left shoulder.
"Is everyone here?" Anzu asks, she, Momo and Yuzu standing next to Yuki.
"Yes," the girls respond, so Anzu turns to Yuki. "So, what did you want to tell us?"
Looking in front of her, Yuki starts feeling a little nervous with the stares of 27 girls falling on her.
"W-Well," she stutters slightly because of her nervousness, though she quickly composes herself and starts talking. "It's about Chi-Ha Tan and Jatkosota."
At this, almost all the girls start whispering between each other, but Momo steps up to quiet them.
"Hey, stop talking!" she says loudly and the girls comply, the whispers getting lesser and lesser until there is only silence.
"I'll assume you all know about them being stranded in Busan, which is located in South Korea, so I'll tell you what the Director told me on the phone," Yuki continues, though she pauses for a moment to take a deep breath. "Trying to extract the girls from there at the current time, or even somehow get the carriers in an operating state and having them return to Japan on their own is impossible."
"What!?" some of the girls exclaim in surprise, while others look at each other with worried expressions.
"B-But... Can't Blackout send people to get them out?" Azusa asks with great concern, but Yuki shakes her head.
"No. With the Institute controlling all of China, most of Korea and Australia, while not knowing what's going on with the Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia, the Institute could attack at any moment to seize Japan. Furthermore, they have both air and naval forces, meaning that transporting troops is very risky. And even if Blackout didn't have to worry about any invasions, even if they pooled all their forces and sent them to South Korea, the enemy numbers are too high to turn the tide by normal means."
"Then how will we save them?" Erwin asks and Yuki turns to face her.
"What I'm about to tell you is considered classified information, so I'd be grateful if you kept what you are about to hear a secret," she says and everyone stiffens at the seriousness in her voice, "but the Director and Coordinator have made a preliminary plan. I wasn't told all the details, but all of the Ooarai teams, except for Anglerfish Team obviously, will be shipped along with Kasai and Kōrino in Busan to help defend the city and push back the enemy, then start striking at enemy installations with high strategic value. The end goal will be to push Institute forces out of the Korean peninsula," she finishes explaining and an eerie silence falls throughout the garage.
"Uhm... Can I ask a question?" asks Kasai with a raised hand.
"What is it?" Yuki asks and Kasai lowers her hand.
"I can understand why Blackout would send me and Kōrino to fight, since we can use Ether, and the other girls to support us, but pushing the Institute out of the Korean peninsula is...uhm...I just can't understand how this ties in with saving the school carriers," she says somewhat uneasily and everyone turns to look at Yuki.
"The Director didn't tell me anything else, but I think that the fates of Chi-Ha Tan and Jatkosota are secondary to him." Most of the girls make shocked faces upon hearing this statement, but Yuki continues. "At any rate, he also told me that you'll be moved in Busan in about a month, so I suggest you start preparing yourselves. Dismissed," she says and leaves the girls alone as she starts making her way towards the exit.
What wouldn't I give to return back to my simple life in the village. I'm in no way qualified to run an organization like this, she thinks, a heavy sigh escaping her mouth. Miho, please come back quickly.
Nearing Los Angeles International Airport, California. ETA: 10 minutes
Inside the cargo bay of Blackout's C17 Globe master III, Odysseus sits in one of the sidewall seats, quietly humming to herself and writing something on a small notepad she is currently holding. Next to her sits Annabelle, who has placed her head in the blonde's shoulder in order to sleep, while next to her sits Reiji, and surprisingly Hana, the two of them quietly talking about different things. On the opposite side from them sits Miho, Yukari, Mako, who is currently sleeping, Saori and Tyler.
Thankfully, because of the airplane's size, even after loading the tanks, there was enough space left for the members of both teams to sit at the sidewall seats, or else they'd have to weather the whole trip inside their respective tanks, which would have been very uncomfortable.
"What are you humming?" Annabelle asks a bit groggily as she raises her head from Odysseus' right shoulder and rubs her eyes with her right hand.
"Oh, did I wake you up?" Odysseus asks as she stops writing on her notebook, closing it and putting it inside one of her uniform's pockets along with the pencil she was using.
"No, no, I woke up on my own," Annabelle responds as she catches a glimpse of the notebook for a moment. "What were you doing till now?"
"I was writing a journal," she says and Annabelle develops a curious expression.
"A journal? Never had you for the type of girl that would keep a diary."
"Well, I see you writing in your own diary every day, and it seems kinda fun, so why not try it too?" she says, but Annabelle doesn't look that convinced.
"Hmm... I feel like you are hiding something from me," she says and Odysseus can only chuckle in response.
"Who knows. Maybe I do, maybe I don't," she says and shows a toothy grin to her friend. "Anyway, what do you think about the upgrades Blackout installed in our tank?" she asks and points at the Cerberus, which sports a fair amount of new things on it.
"Well, we got these fancy new blocks you call NERA covering our tank in multiple layers, a laser designator, an APS and a new on-board computer that handles it."
"Good, cause I couldn't remember what the Director had done with the tank," Odysseus laughs quietly, scratching her right cheek.
"Seriously?" Annabelle facepalms, shaking her head in disappointment. "And you are supposed to be our commander..."
"In my defence, I knew that the upgrades would greatly enhance our defence against ATGMs," Odysseus says, then points at the Panzer IV. "I also know that they welded on Miho's tank extra armor, gave it NERA and APS, upgraded the suspension, transmission and engine."
"So you know about the upgrades on that tank, but not yours..."
"They sounded more interesting to me. Though, even with these, it'll only take one shot to disable the tank and probably kill the girls."
"Aren't you an optimist..." Annabelle says sarcastically, and Odysseus turns to look at her and sticks out her tongue. "Can you stop being immature?"
"Nope and never will," she responds with a grin. Scooching closer to Annabelle, Odysseus leans to her and starts whispering on her ear. "Leaving my immaturity aside for now, can you believe how close Reiji has gotten to Hana in these past few days? It's like I'm watching a scripted soap opera playing right in front of me. Now we only need a bit of drama and we can copyright this!"
"And why would you care how close he is to her? Are you waiting for something to happen to cause trouble like you did with Tyler and Saori?" Annabelle turns and whispers at Odysseus with squinted eyes.
"Of course not! What do you think I am, a troublemaker?" Odysseus says indignant. "I simply want to make things more interesting and fun!" she winks at Annabelle and taps her lips with her index finger.
Annabelle immediately understands what that gesture means and blood rushes in her face, making her cheeks turn red.
"You speak to anyone about it, not even your ashes will be found after I'm done with you," Annabelle seethes quietly at the blonde in a mix of fluster and embarrassment.
"Don't worry, I won't," Odysseus chuckles. "It will be our dirty little secret," she winks and Annabelle can't do anything other than let out a heavy sigh.
"I'll have to trust you on that," the redhead says, then feels a strong shake. "Seems like we have landed," she comments and unbuckles her seatbelt. After the airplane lands and taxes near the airport's terminal, the pilot lowers the rear cargo ramp and everyone grabs their stuff and disembark, as numerous mechanics arrive at the plane and start checking its condition and refueling it.
"Any idea what we do now?" Saori asks as she looks around.
"What about this?" Yukari asks and points at a black Humvee that quickly approaches them, with Blackout's insignia painted on both sides.
"That's Blackout's," Tyler says as the Humvee stops in front of them and a man with a black uniform exits from the front passenger seat.
"I assume you are the transfers from Japan?" the man asks as he rounds the jeep and stops in front of the girls.
"Yes sir," Miho responds and snaps the salute, but the man waves at her dismissively.
"No need for salutes or ranks. We are mercenaries, not the military," he says. "You have your transfer orders with you?"
Miho pats her jacket's pockets for a moment, then retrieves a piece of folded paper from one of them and hands it at the man.
"No salutes, ranks and similar bullshit?" Odysseus speaks with a wide grin on her face. "I already like this country!"
"Things are going to be a lot more different than in Japan," Mako blurts out. "I wonder if I can sleep more now."
"Mako!" Saori says and starts berating her.
"Everything seems to be in order," the man says and hands Miho back the paper. "You'll find two Humvees waiting for you outside the airport terminal; they will take you at our HQ and you'll receive further orders from there."
"What about our tanks?" Miho asks as she pockets their transfer orders. The man leans to the right and looks inside the plane's cargo bay, looking at the two tanks and the loadmaster who waits next to the cargo ramp.
"We'll take care of them," he says and signals to the loadmaster with his hand to start removing the cargo straps that tie the tanks down. "I'd also appreciate it if you could unload them out of the cargo bay, since I don't think we have any people that know how to drive them."
"Of course," Miho responds and turns to Mako. "Could you please unload the tank?" she asks and Mako nods silently. Odysseus simply motions at Annabelle and she goes away to unload the Cerberus.
"A few more things before you go," the man says. "First, if you have any weapons on you, please leave them with your personal belongings. Second, we will handle your luggage and transfer them at our base where you'll be staying. It is near Interstate 15, at the part between Victorville and Barstow. I think there was one more thing concerning your assigned positions, but I wasn't given any information about it," he shrugs at the girls. "At any rate, the Director will inform you about it."
Having said his part, he turns around and starts talking with the driver, who has exited the Humvee and looks at the moving tanks that exit from the cargo bay.
"Oh boy, this is going to be a fun trip," Odysseus says and pulls at the collar of her uniform's jacket. "Damn, couldn't we come here at fall or winter? It's too hot!"
"Can't handle a little heat?" Tyler asks, though he too has started sweating from how high the temperature is and the clothing he is wearing.
"Dude, my country's average temperatures are from 35 to 45 °C in summer, unless you live in a mountainous village or in the northern parts," Odysseus looks at Tyler like he has offended her, then points at her clothes. "Plus, wearing a black outfit that covers your whole body is not helping either."
"Ugh, the heat is unbearable," Saori complains as she tries to cool herself by making fanning motions with her hands at her face. "I feel sticky from all the sweat. Seriously, how can you live in a place like this, Tyler?"
"This is nothing. You should see what kind of temperatures places like The Valley of Death in Arizona have in summer. You can literally fry an egg there," Tyler says and slightly grins at the face Saori makes.
"Thankfully they'll have air conditioning and we won't boil to death," Odysseus comments as Annabelle and Mako return to the group.
"And thankfully you'll stop complaining for every little thing that bothers you," Annabelle says, prompting Odysseus to start complaining at how she is not complaining for everything. "Anyway, shall we get going?"
A few minutes later, inside one of the Humvees
Moving on the Interstate 105
Destination, Blackout Headquarters
"...and as we were driving around the city trying to find an escape route, with me firing the machine gun everywhere I could see enemies, an RPG warhead strikes the front right wheel, causing our Humvee to roll multiple times. I was really lucky cause I was thrown off the vehicle moments before another RPG warhead struck it and it blew up!" Odysseus finishes recounting one of her many adventures during her time in the Third Balkan War. "Since then, I've always made it a rule to man the machine gun in a Humvee. If it has one, of course," she says, standing in the Humvee's hatch that is for the machine gun turret. Inside the vehicle sit Reiji in the front passenger seat, while on the back sit Annabelle, Tyler, and a furiously blushing Saori who is sitting on Tyler's legs, since there isn't enough space inside the cabin.
"Aren't you afraid of a sniper hitting your head?" Annabelle asks and Odysseus taps her head lightly.
"That's why you wear a helmet. Plus, if a sniper hits you, it'll kill you instantly. You'll feel absolutely nothing."
"Then what if you fail to bail out and as the vehicle starts rolling, you get squashed by it?" Reiji turns slightly on his seat and asks, and Odysseus slightly ducks inside the Humvee to look at him.
"Well, shit, I guess I'm gonna have a gruesome death filled with endless pain and agony... At least until my brain gets scattered all over the gray asphalt."
"Why did they only send two Humvees to pick us up?" Tyler asks, directing his question at the driver.
"Ohh, why are you asking such a question, Tyler? Don't you like having Saori sitting on your lap?" Odysseus sneers like a troll, not missing a beat to cause trouble and misunderstanding. Saori's blush immediately flares, locking her gaze down at the Humvee's floor and wishing for the ground to open up and shallow her.
"Could you please not say things like these? Saori is about to explode from her embarrassment," Tyler says to Odysseus.
"N-No... I-I'm fine, Tyler! There's n-nothing embarrassing about this!" Saori stutters, but this causes Odysseus to throw more fuel in the fire.
"Well, if three Humvees had come to pick us up, I guess we could have four people in the first two jeeps, and you two lovebirds could be all alone in the third!" she says with a sultry smile. "Of course the driver could see you, but maybe-OWW!" she cries out in the end as Annabelle punches her in her right thigh to make her stop.
Having reached her limit, Saori turns herself so that she can place her head on Tyler's chest, but she does it with so much force and speed because of her embarrassment, that it's actually like headbutting him.
"Gah! That hurt a lot," Tyler croaks, gently patting Saori's back to get her to calm down a little.
"I think you overstepped your bounds, Odysseus," Annabelle says with a scolding gaze.
"Hey, it's not my fault she gets easily embarrassed!" Odysseus pouts at the redhead.
"That doesn't mean you can bring her on an embarrassing position each time you see her. I can take a joke because I've been with you for almost two years and I've gotten used to it, but she hasn't, so could you please not do this again?" Tyler frowns at Odysseus and the blonde immediately loses her pout, though Reiji interrupts her before she can retort.
"Ahem. If you would let the driver answer," he says and points at the man next to him who was looking at the rest awkwardly through the rear-view mirror.
"Well... We only knew that there were two tank crews that were coming as transfers, so we assumed both of them had at most four members," the man answers.
After a few minutes, the Humvees get off Interstate 105 and start making their way towards South Park, where Blackout's HQ is located.
"Hmm... now that's interesting," Odysseus hums as she looks all around, observing the buildings, the people, and the few cars that pass by every now and then.
"What is it?" Annabelle asks with mild interest, she too looking outside through her window.
"The earthquakes where supposed to be happening everywhere in the world, right?" she asks and everyone inside the jeep nods. "Then how it comes that most buildings are either undamaged, or they have superficial damage?"
"Maybe they were built to be very sturdy? Los Angeles is close to the San Andreas fault, so the building specifications of buildings tend to be very high," Tyler says, looking outside along with Saori.
"Wow... There are so many people here..." Saori comments, looking at all the people that walk in the pavements.
"Los Angeles has, or rather had, a fairly large population. Plus, a lot of famous YouTubers were staying here."
"Think they are still making videos?" Odysseus asks sarcastically, but Tyler answers anyway.
"If the internet still exists, why not? Though I doubt people are still watching videos online when the world has gone to hell," Tyler says.
"I bet fifteen bucks they still watch porn, though."
"Any idea why there are so few cars?" Reiji asks the driver, who glances at him from the corner of his right eye.
"West Coast Coalition reserves most of its petroleum or gasoline for military usage, so only a fraction of the reserves makes it into the commercial market. As you can imagine, the prices are quite high, and only the rich can afford it."
"Then what about Blackout?" Annabelle asks, but the man remains silent for a few seconds before speaking.
"We are currently in a contract with the West Coast Coalition, so they sell us any fuel we might need. Plus, with how things between factions are going, I believe they'll probably make another contract to hire our troops to fight with them."
"Do you know anything about the other factions? Does Blackout operate bases in their territories too?"
"Well, it operated some bases here and there, but the ones in the State Alliance and in Texas were closed, since both factions didn't really hire any mercenaries. The State Alliance is backed by a powerful organization, while Texas just hates outsiders."
"Wait, wasn't the base full of American mercenaries? Why would they consider them as outsiders?" Saori asks somewhat confused, but the man shakes his head.
"Blackout is a Japanese PMC, the problem's not so much the mercenaries, but the origin of Blackout itself," the man answer, then continues. "We also had a base inside the Holy Trinity State's territory, but it mysteriously went dark after a few months of the faction's creation. A team was sent to investigate, but when they returned, they were all traumatized. Whatever they had witnessed, it was really, really bad..."
"Great... Things just keep getting better and better..." Odysseus says sarcastically.
"We have arrived," the driver says as he turns in an intersection and South Park comes into full view. Driving for a few more meters, he turns left in a tall building, driving down the ramp it has in front of it and down the underground garage.
Getting out of the vehicles, two armed guards approach both teams.
"They are the new transfers," one of the drivers says, having exited the vehicle and making his way towards the elevator that connects the underground parking garage with the rest of the floors.
"Can you show us your transfer orders?" one of the guards asks and Miho obliges, giving the paper at the man. "My colleague here will perform a pat-down to check you don't have anything illegal with you," the man says and the second guard steps forward.
"If you two boys could come over here," he says at Reiji and Tyler, pointing in front of him. "As for you, ladies, you'll have to wait for a little while."
"Hmm? Why is that?" Annabelle asks.
"We had complaints from some of the female staff that the procedure is "invasive" and akin to sexual harassment, so it was decided that female staff will be checked by female guards only," the second guard says as he pats down Tyler to see if he is hiding anything.
"Seriously?" Odysseus says in disbelief, raising one of her eyebrows. "Are these girls the type of die-hard feminists or what? I'd get it if the guards checking them groped them or did something similar, but I don't think Blackout can afford employing people like them."
"I'm not paid enough to care about things like these, so I just follow orders," the man says, having finished checking Tyler and doing the same to Reiji.
"The orders seem to be fine," the first guard says and hands them back to Miho, then turns at the second guard. "Hey, I'm gonna get Jeanne to come and check the girls, wanna tell her to bring you something?"
"Yeah, tell her to bring me a sandwich, I'm starving," he answers.
"OK," the first guard answers and makes his way to the elevator.
"Since we have some time, why don't we discuss how we should start our investigation?" Odysseus asks quietly, looking at the lone guard to make sure he hasn't heard her.
"We should start by learning the layout of the building and exploring it," Miho suggests.
"Since we are looking for spies, we probably shouldn't tell anyone about this; not even the Director," Annabelle says.
"I think that the spies would either try to get positions with a lot of power so that no one would question their actions, or positions that would ensure their cover wouldn't get blown immediately," Mako says and everyone nods.
"So we need to somehow find records of everyone that works here," Reiji suggests, but Odysseus speaks up.
"That's assuming the spies are in the HQ and not in the base." Looking at the lone guard, who looks at them with a somewhat suspicious gaze, an idea pops in her mind. "Hey, can I ask you a question?" she asks the guard loudly.
"Sure," the man shrugs, though his suspicious gaze doesn't lessen even a bit.
"How many of the office staff are women, and how many of the mercenaries are women?"
The guard widens slightly his eyes in surprise. "And why you ask?"
"Simple curiosity. Back in Japan there were a lot of girls that were mercenaries, so I want to see if it is the same here," she answers with a smile.
"Most mercenaries here are guys. There are very few girls who will risk their lives for some dollar bills. Having said that, most office workers here are women."
"Great, thanks a lot," she says, then turns at the rest. "Guess what, Tyler? You are gonna have to ask for a few favors in the future," Odysseus grins like a villain at the boy, who instinctively takes a step back.
"No, no, no, no, I don't want to have to do anything with your shady schemes that will surely get me in trouble!" Tyler immediately says, almost shouting at the blonde.
"Oh come on, I didn't ask you to go and sleep with them! Just mesmerize them with whatever you attract girls and have them do you a few favors!" Odysseus says and Saori's eyes almost pop out of their sockets.
"What!? Absolutely not!" she shouts and grabs Tyler's arm, pulling him closer to her and hugging him. "Don't you dare get him in trouble again!"
"Woah, chill out girl! I'm not going to steal your boyfriend!" Odysseus shouts back and raises her hands in front of her. "But with him, we could really make our lives easier with-"
"I don't care! You are not using him for anything!"
"Uhm... Excuse me, is everything alright?" the guard asks, but he gets ignored by everyone. "Why am I even here if everyone ignores me..."
"Saori, please calm down," Hana says to her friend, but she seems too focused in arguing with Odysseus to hear her.
"Miss Nishizumi, what do we do now?" Yukari asks Miho, but a loud voice echoes in the garage.
"Is everything alright?"
Turning at the direction of the voice, they find a woman with long, brown hair tied in a ponytail and brown eyes walking towards them, wearing full military gear and holding a sandwich.
"You sure took your time, Jeanne," the guard says, catching the sandwich the woman throws at him with a lot of force. "You sure are grumpy today."
"Woke up like this, plus I met Johnson and his squad, so I'm really not in the best of moods," Jeanne says and then looks at the girls. "You want me to search them?"
"Yep," the man answers and the woman just stares at him for a few seconds. "What?"
"Seriously now, are you afraid of touching a girl?" she asks as she turns to face the girls.
"Unless I want to be accused of sexual harassment on teenagers, yes," the man answers curtly.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Jeanne waves her hand dismissively. "Okay girls, come here one at a time. I'll have to pat down your body, so don't start yelling where I'm touching, okay?"
After a few minutes, Jeanne finishes patting down the last girl.
"You are all clear, so take the elevator up to the first floor and go to the front desk and ask for your IDs. They'll also tell you what to do next," she says at the girls, but then she notices Tyler and blood rushes immediately in her cheeks.
"W-Well, that's all for now. See you around," the woman waves at them and goes to stand next to the other guard.
"Have a good day," the man says at the two teams as they enter the elevator. After the doors close, he turns to his colleague. "Are you alright? Your cheeks are quite red," he asks in a worried tone.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she answers with a thoughtful expression. "But this boy..."
"You mean the blonde one?" he asks, but then he widens his eyes in understanding. "Oooh, I see. So you like the boy," he says, but then makes a confused expression. "But... Don't you like older guys?"
"Yeah, which is why I find this weird. We could have at lleas seven years difference in age, even a decade."
"Think it was love at first sight?"
"Not in the slightest. More like lust at first sight."
"Well, I could help y-"
"Don't even think about it!" she glares at the man, who takes a few steps back.
"I'm joking, I'm joking!" he laughs awkwardly, then starts eating his sandwich.
"Right..." Jeanne deadpans.
"We have verified your credentials," the receptionist behind the front desk says, placing on it several ID cards that have various information on them. "These are your personalized ID cards. Please don't lose them, as you won't be able to enter the HQ or the base, neither get paid your monthly salary," she informs them and everyone nods.
"Can I ask a question?" Miho asks the receptionist.
"Sure," she answers with a smile.
"Where is the Director's office? We are supposed to report to him once we arrive."
"You'll find his office on the 30th floor. You can take the middle elevator there," she says and points at the side, where three elevator doors are.
"Thank you very much," Miho responds and bows.
"Will we even fit inside this tiny box?" Saori asks as she presses the button for the elevator and the doors slide open. "It barely has space for six people, maybe seven if we squeeze hard enough."
"Why not have five people take the middle elevator and the rest use one of the others and go up till the floor it goes, then use the stairs all the way to the 30th floor?" Annabelle suggests and Odysseus immediately grabs Saori and Tyler and drags them at the next elevator.
"We'll take this one. See you in the office!" she says at the rest as she pulls Annabelle inside and presses the button of the last floor it goes.
"That was sudden," Hana says as she looks at the indicator over the elevator counting up.
"Isn't she a little bit too impulsive?" Yukari asks as everyone enters the middle elevator and Miho presses the button for the 30th floor.
"But it matches her character," Mako says, but then Reiji, who has been "left behind", speaks up.
"While that's true, there is always a reason behind her "impulsive" nature. Be it she is bored and wants to pass her time, or she has thought of something more elaborate, she'll grasp any chance that will present itself in front of her."
"So why would she take Saori with her and leave you behind?" Yukari asks Reiji.
If I'm honest, probably to push me closer to Hana. Looking at her, Hana looks back at him with a serene smile. Yep, that's totally her plan.
"Probably to try and convince her about Tyler," Mako says.
Ding
"Seems like we have arrived," Miho says and steps out of the elevator. Looking around, she finds this floor a lot smaller than she first expected it, with a carpeted floor and painted walls. A couple meters away from her is a desk with a woman behind it, probably a secretary, while on the left side of the room are two big, wooden doors that have a pair of guards in front of them. There are also a few chairs opposite from the office's doors for people who are waiting to enter the Director's office.
"Seems we have arrived first," Miho mutters to herself as she approaches the secretary's desk, the others following close by.
"Uhm, excuse me," she says at the secretary, who is either doing a job on the computer, or is playing Solitaire.
"Ah, welcome. May I see your IDs?" the woman asks with a smile and everyone gives her their IDs. As she starts checking them by entering the information in the system to see that they indeed exist in the database and are not forged, Odysseus and Annabelle arrive.
"Finally!" Odysseus exhales as she opens the staircase door that is next to the elevator, slightly panting and sweating.
"Next time, please don't run in the stairs," Annabelle says from behind her, she too panting and sweating. "You almost tripped and hit your head on the handrail."
"It's not my fault we had to cover ten floors to get here," she answers, then sees the rest of the girls and Reiji. "Oh, so we didn't make it before you..."
"Where is Tyler?" Reiji asks.
"With Saori, taking their sweet time walking up the stairs," she curtly responds, but Annabelle speaks up.
"What she means is that instead of running up ten floors, they chose to walk," she says and Odysseus pouts at her.
"But you ran with me," she says and Annabelle turns to look at her.
"Because I can't leave you out of my sight for even a moment. You might blow up the whole building for all we know," the redhead responds.
"Thank you for your patience," the secretary tells Miho and hands her back the IDs. "Can I please have your IDs?" she asks Odysseus and Annabelle, and both comply, handing the secretary their IDs. After checking them, she hands them back and looks at Miho. "Now then, how can I help you?"
"We are the new transfers and we were told to report to the Director," Miho responds.
"Ah, I see, I see!" the secretary exclaims, picking up the phone's handset and pressing a few numbers. "Yes, Director? The newly transfered teams have arrived. Yes, they are waiting outside. Understood."
Putting the handset down to terminate the call, she turns at the girls. "Miss Nishizumi and Miss..." she pauses for a second and looks at the computer screen, before turning back. "... Papaioannou, please enter the Director's office to report. The rest of you, please wait here."
Obliging, Miho and Odysseus step inside the office, the guards closing the doors behind them. The office is an exact copy of the one back in Japan, which strikes the girls as an oddity.
"Why is the office exactly as the one back in Japan?" Odysseus mutters to herself, but the man who sits behind the office hears her and answers.
"That's because, when this HQ first opened so many years ago, the founder of this company was its Director."
Turning at the direction of the voice, they spot a young man around his late thirties, with brown hair and eyes, wearing a black uniform with a five-star insignia over the right shoulder.
"Director!" Miho turns to face the man and salutes him, while Odysseus adopts a flat expression and points at her friend.
"You don't expect me to salute you, do you?" she deadpans.
"No, of course not," he says as he waves at Miho to lower her hand. "You are mercenaries, or as the official term goes, "contractors", so you are not obliged to adhere to standard military protocol. But I appreciate the gesture. It shows respect."
The man stands up from his leather seat and raises his right hand for a handshake. "I'm Director Norton."
"Nishizumi Miho," Miho introduces herself as she shakes Norton's hand, then bows. "It is nice to meet you."
"Elpida Papaioannou," Odysseus introduces herself, briefly shaking the man's hand. "Just call me Odysseus."
"Please, have a seat," Norton gestures at the two luxurious chairs placed in front of the desk.
As everyone sits down, he procures a paper from one of the desk's drawers. "Before we start talking about business, would you prefer talking in English or Japanese, Miss Nishizumi?" Norton asks Miho, which surprises her a little.
"Oh! Uhm... I'd prefer Japanese if you don't mind, since my English isn't that good," she responds and the man nods, pressing a button on the phone placed on top of his desk. Several seconds later, the secretary enters the office.
"Did you call for me, Director?" she asks and Norton nods.
"Yes. Miss Nishizumi is from Japan, and her English isn't that good, so could you translate for her?" he asks.
"Yes, of course Director!" she nods and quickly walks over to Norton.
"Good. Now then, let us start your report," he says and starts scanning the paper he holds on his hand. "Both of you have been transfered to act as extra security for our headquarters. Normally that wouldn't have been possible, since you are tank crews," he glances for a moment at Miho, then Odysseus, then back at the paper. "But thankfully you have received infantry training."
Putting down the paper, he looks both girls in the eyes.
"I'll be honest with you, we have enough security for the HQ as it is. For that reason, and some others, I'll be transferring you under West Coast Coalition's control as part of the hired mercenary forces. Of course your monthly payment will change accordingly."
While Miho raises an eyebrow at this, more out of surprise than confusion, Odysseus practically springs herself upright, banging her clenched fists against the Director's desk.
"No! We were sent here to act as security and that's what we are going to do," she says with a chilling tone, her expression slowly revealing her silent anger. While Miho and Norton remain somewhat unfazed by this, the secretary takes a step back from the desk, with cold sweat forming on her forehead.
Norton spends a few long seconds looking at Odysseus, then adopts a dismissive gaze.
"Listen, the moment you set foot here, your transfer was completed, therefore you are under my command. So, you'll do as I say," Norton says, supporting his arms with his elbows on the desk and crossing his fingers in front of him. "I have enough infantry in the base to replace your posts here. Tank crews are a rarity here, especially ones that have their own tanks, so of course I'll have you on the battlefield rather than rusting here waiting for something inevitable."
"I don't care. We were sent here to act as security and that's what we will do!" she says again, this time raising her voice.
"Odysseus calm down, you aren't helping with the situation," Miho says and the blonde turns her head at her.
"If you want to send your crew to their deaths, Miho, then be my guest!" Odysseus yells. "I'm not sending my friends to a warzone, much less to the frontlines!"
"If you refuse to cooperate, I'll remove you from your position and have someone else take over your team," Norton says and Odysseus looks at him with a furious expression.
"And who do you think you are to do something like that?"
"The one running this place," Norton says and stands up, looking at Odysseus with an unyielding gaze.
"Do this and I'll blow up this entire building."
"Are you threatening me?"
"I'm only warning you."
"Odysseus, that's enough," Miho says sternly. "Calm down. We have been in plenty of fights, large scale ones too. This isn't anything new for us."
A few long moments pass, with Odysseus silently looking at Miho.
"So what's your answer, Miss Papaioannou?" Norton asks her.
"Fine, I'll play along. But should something happen to my team, I'm coming for your head," she seethes quietly, then slumps down on her chair and starts mumbling to herself.
"I'm really sorry about this," Miho apologizes and bows, with the secretary translating for the Director.
"It's okay," Norton says and sits on his own seat. "You'll be transferred on a West Coast Coaltion's army base in two days. Till then you can either stay on our base, or explore the city if you have money to stay in a hotel. You are free to go."
"Clarette, don't go yet. I want to discuss a few things with you," Norton says at the secretary and procures a few documents from his desk's drawers.
Odysseus quickly stands up and makes her way out of the office, opening one of the doors with a loud bang, somewhat scaring everyone that is waiting outside.
"Is everything okay?" Annabelle asks worried after seeing the blonde's angry expression.
"Don't want to talk right now," she says quietly and makes her way to the elevator.
"What happened, Miho?" Hana asks Miho as she exits the office, the guards closing the doors behind her.
"Our assignment changed," she sighs. "We won't be acting as security for the HQ."
"Then what will we be doing?" Yukari asks Miho.
"We will transfer under this faction's control as part of the hired mercenary forces." At this, everyone develops surprised or worried expressions.
"No surprise Odysseus is like that, we are heading into a goddamn warzone!" Annabelle grumbles and turns around, only to find Odysseus missing and the elevator going down. "I'll be waiting for you with Odysseus in front of the building!" she says, then breaks into a sprint, taking the stairs to try and catch up with Odysseus before she does anything stupid. Opening the door that leads to the main staircase, she starts descending the stairs as fast as she can, some times even jumping two or three of them. Exiting at the twentieth floor, she luckily finds one of the elevators still there, so she quickly enters and presses the button for the first floor (or ground floor for the British).
"God I wish she doesn't have that much of a lead," she pants and wipes the sweat that has formed on her forehead with her right arm.
"Are you okay?"
Turning to her left, she finds a tall, young, bald Afro-American man dressed in a black uniform gazing at her, so she quickly composes herself and turns at the him.
"Yes, just trying to catch up with a friend of mine," she smiles at him. "We got separated since we are new here and I'm trying to find her before she does anything that might inconvenience others."
"You just transferred here?" he asks and Annabelle nods. "Jaiden Spears. My friends call me Jade," he introduces himself.
"Annabelle Morris," Annabelle introduces herself.
"Nice to meet you, Annabelle. Have you transferred as an office staff or as a mercenary?"
"I've transferred as a member of a tank crew. The friend I'm trying to catch up with is my commander."
"Tank crew? That's rare," he says in surprise. "Most people can't afford to maintain a tank, even if they have one in the first place."
"Well, it's a long story."
Ding
"Looks like this is my stop," the man says as the elevator stops on the third floor and its doors slide open. "I'm the leader of an infantry squad, so I guess we'll see each other on the battlegrounds soon enough."
Exiting the elevator, he turns and tells her one more thing. "Since you have just transferred, a fair warning. If you meet Johnson or his squad, avoid them at all costs. They are really bad people."
As the doors close and the elevator starts descending once again, Annabelle pushes the last comment at the side of her head for the time being, since she needs to find Odysseus. Reaching the first floor, she steps out of the elevator and starts looking around for her blonde friend.
"Where is she?" she mutters to herself as she looks around for Odysseus. Not finding her inside, she moves towards the building's exit. Exiting through the opened glass doors, she finds the blonde standing at the edge of the sidewalk, looking at the ground with an annoyed expression.
"Odysseus!" she says loudly to get her attention, but as she starts walking quickly to her, she collides with someone.
"Ah, I'm really sorry!" she immediately apologizes as she sees a cup of coffee falling and spilling on the ground.
"Look what you have done to my uniform!" the man shouts, and as Annabelle can clearly see, brown liquid has splashed all over his uniform's jacket and is slowly rolling down to his pants thanks to gravity.
"Hey, Ashton, what happened?"
Turning at the voice, Annabelle sees five people approaching her and the man.
"Look what this bitch did, Johnson!" the man shouts at one of the approaching men, and Annabelle widens her eyes.
"Come on, Ash, don't speak for the girl like that," a man a few years older than Annabelle says. He is 180cm tall, has blue eyes and blond hair pulled back and also wears a uniform similar to Jaiden's. "I'm sure she didn't do it on purpose."
Annabelle looks at the man and he smiles at her, sending a chill down her spine. This must be the Johnson guy Jaiden told me to avoid. I'll just go away quietly and hope Odysseus hasn't gone away.
But as she tries to move away, the man named Johnson grabs her by the wrist and pulls her closer to him. "Though you still need to repay him for dirtying his uniform. How about keeping us some company? We just got paid, so we could go for a few drinks."
"If that's the case, why don't you take me with you?"
Turning on his right, Johnson manages to see a fist coming his way, before he hears a crack and feels a burning sensation in his nose. Stumbling a few steps backwards, he cups his hands on his bleeding nose and looks up at his assailant.
"How about starting with some Bloody Mary, huh?" Odysseus asks sarcastically and punches the man in the guts, forcing him on his knees, then kicks him square on his chest, causing him to fall down on his back. Some of the people walking on the sidewalk stop to see what's going on.
"I'm in a really bad mood right now," Odysseus says as she presses Johnson's throat with her right boot, steadily applying more and more pressure with the intent of caving in his trachea. The man starts heaving and coughing uncontrollably as the blood from his broken nose starts flowing down his throat. "And you have presented yourself as the perfect punching bag! You don't mind if I vent my anger on you, do you?"
"What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to kill him!?" Annabelle yells at Odysseus and pulls her away from the man. Johnson starts gasping for air and coughing blood, and his friends rush to help him.
"Pieces of shit like him don't deserve to live, Annabelle," Odysseus responds back, with Annabelle still holding her by the wrist.
"Look, I understand how you feel about the change in the assignment, but venting your anger and frustration this way is unacceptable," Annabelle says and looks around at all the bystanders that have stopped and are whispering between them. "You are also making a scene. Just let it go, okay?"
Odysseus keeps gazing at Annabelle for a few seconds, before sighing and yanking her hand out of the redhead's grasp. "Fine, fine, whatever you say..." she says slowly with an annoyed expression.
"You won't get away with this, bitch!" Johnson, who is now standing, spats at Odysseus, taking an intimidating step towards her. "Next time we meet, I'll show you what real pain means!"
"Yeah, yeah, keep barking like the good dog you are," Odysseus waves her hand dismissively at him, as he and his friends go away.
"What did we miss?" Tyler asks as he, Reiji and the rest of the girls approach them.
"Nothing much," Odysseus answers with an indifferent expression.
"So people threatening you is nothing much?"
"It wouldn't be the first time."
"Excuse me."
Turning behind her, Odysseus finds two men dressed in black suits who stand in front of a white limousine with tinted windows.
"Our boss is waiting for Mister Davis and his friends inside the limousine, so if you'd be kind enough to enter," one of the men says and opens the limousine's door.
"Great, now the fucking mafia is on our tail..." she grumbles and looks at Tyler. "Anything you haven't told us?" Odysseus smirks when she sees Tyler facepalm.
"How did she even found out I was here?" Tyler sighs. "It hasn't been even an hour since I set foot in the city..."
"Tyler... what's going on?" Saori asks him with a concerned expression.
"Don't worry about it... Everything will make sense when we enter," he answers and makes his way inside the limousine, quickly followed by Saori.
"Let's hope we won't have to go for a swim in the docks later," Odysseus jokes and enters inside, followed by Annabelle.
"This will be entertaining," Reiji chuckles as he enters. After him, Hana, Yukari, Mako, and finally Miho enter.
Miho gasps slightly as she enters, seeing the carpeted floor and the leather seats inside the limousine. Sitting next to Mako, the two suited men enter too and close the door behind them, sitting at the sides of a woman that sits opposite from Miho and her friends.
The woman seems to be around her early forties, has flowing blonde hair that drape over her left shoulder and a pair of bright blue eyes. She wears an one-piece, silk dress colored bright violet, white, silk gloves and bright purple high heels, while on her thighs sits a sun hat with a large brim and a black bow tie on its side. The woman knocks two times on a tinted window that is behind her to her left, and the limousine starts moving.
"It's been a while, hasn't it, Tyler?" the woman speaks in a soft and elegant voice, but Tyler simply looks at her with a simple expression.
"I'm really curious to know how you learned I was coming back," he says and the woman giggles slightly. "I haven't been here for more than an hour, yet here you are, waiting for me and my friends in a fancy limo."
"I have ears and eyes everywhere in the city, Tyler. I know everything that is happening inside my turf," she answers with a dangerous gleam in her eyes.
"Uhm... Excuse me, but who are you? And how do you know Tyler?" Saori asks hesitantly and woman turns to face her.
"Me? My name is Lottie Snow, young girl. I'm the one running Los Angeles' underworld," she says with a smile and everyone adopts alarmed faces, except for Tyler, Odysseus who is on the verge of bursting out in laughter, Annabelle who is smirking at Tyler and Reiji who pops a grin for a moment. Saori turns her head slowly and looks at Tyler with widened eyes, before turning to look back at the woman.
"Me and Tyler have a long history; I've known him his whole life."
"H-His whole life? T-Tyler...?" Saori whispers at her boyfriend, who can only sigh in defeat.
"Everyone, let me introduce her again," he says and gestures at the woman. "She is named Lottie Snow, and she is my mother."
Silence feels the cabin as the Anglerfish members look at Tyler with surprised expressions, then slowly turn to look at the woman.
"Oh, I thought you had told them about me," the woman says in surprise, her beautiful face forming a saddened expression.
"Well, I can't exactly tell them my mother is the mafia, can I?" he deadpans.
"How rude!" the woman says offended at what her son has said. "Don't put me in the same category as these amateurs!" She takes a few seconds to recompose herself, then beams a shining smile at everyone. "Sorry about this. It is nice meeting you all." Looking at Tyler, a dangerous gleam appears in her eyes once more. "Now then, Tyler, why don't you tell me the reason you are here after missing for this long? I'm sure this is going to be an interesting story."
I feel like my luck just run out, he sighs mentally as he starts explaining to his mother what had happened these past two years and where he had been.
A/N: Another chapter done! Expect things to go down in around two to three chapters. Thank you for following the story, especially since chapters have been getting published at a later date than they should have had. As always, suggestions, questions, corrections, reviews or PMs are greatly appreciated. Also, English isn't my native tongue, so expect some grammatical errors here and there. If you found the story interesting and had a great time, favorite and follow. Have a nice day/night and until the next chapter, stay safe!