I do not own Highschool of the DEAD or its characters.
Updated: 10/22/13
The next morning came early, as those going on the mission got ready to leave. Stryker 1, the command Humvee and two trucks had been parked in the street ready to be loaded. Troopers milled around doing last minute checks on gear and talking to friends.
A furious Saya was standing toe-to-toe with Rika in the street, staring the woman down.
"No means NO, Takagi! You are not going on this one!" Rika told her for the fifth time.
"Why not? You know I can shoot and navigate!" Saya responded.
Rika sighed, "Saya, we are on a combat mission. You're supply; there is no need for you to be there, and every reason for you to stay here!"
"But HE'S going and I…" Saya started again as Kohta walked up with a stern look on his face.
He took her by the hand and pulled her away from Rika. They went around the side of the mess hall to the alley between it and the supply building.
He turned to her as she glared at him, "Saya, we talked about this. There are going to be times I have to go and you cannot. Please, Angel; don't make this any harder than it already is, or make Rika any madder."
Saya was so mad she was shaking, "Kohta we've…been together…since…since this started! I don't know what to do if you go away! Who will watch out for you? Who will…"
Her ranting was hushed as he pulled her to him and covered her lips with his. They stayed like that for a long time, clutching each other till Saya lay her head on his shoulder and started to cry.
"I'm scared! I'll admit it! I'm terrified of you leaving and never coming back! I love you so much I don't know what to do!" she confessed.
"I love you to, Angel, you're my whole life. If anything was to ever happen to you…I…well…anyway. Please stay here with Toda-san and help run things. Alice is already so upset she has gone into hiding where even Dean-chan can't even find her. She'll come to her big-sis Saya, I'm sure of it."
She sniffed and looked up at him, "If you get hurt I'll never forgive you."
He smiled slightly, "I'm on the gun and the Captain is going to be right beside me. If things go right we will not even fire a shot. Once they see Cowboy and company there's no way they can think of fighting."
"What if they have those RPG's?" she asked.
Kohta shook his head, "I don't think those would be able to do much damage to an Apache. They would have to be shot with a heat seeking missile and the type of RPG we were shot with doesn't do that. Plus Cowboy and the others are super well-trained and know what to look for."
Saya still looked doubtful but she nodded and let Kohta lead her back around the front of the building towards the convoy. They stopped where Rika was still standing and Saya quietly said, "Sorry Rika."
The older woman lowered her head and nodded. Looking up she saw Cowboy, already in his flight suit, walking towards her. He stopped next to her as Kohta and Saya walked on to the Stryker. He snorted and shook his head.
"What?" she asked as she looked up at him.
"Those kids…that little pink fireball is something, and that boyfriend of hers, sixteen years old and riding top gunner on an APC."
Rika sighed, "Had to grow up real quick and I'm glad they did too, or I would have lost my best friend and someone very dear to me."
Cowboy nodded, "Understood. How much longer till y'all move out?"
Glancing at her watch, she said, "About another five. You and the boys all ready for when we need you?"
He grinned, "Just whistle and we'll come a running. Do you know how to whistle?"
Rika smirked, "Just put your lips together and blow, the lady said. Ah, here is the rest of your crew now."
Mississippi and the other two flyers walked up with coffee cups in their hands. After greeting Rika they watched as the troopers started loading. They were almost done when Cowboy glanced at his front seat man.
"Send them off right, Mississippi," was all he said.
The shorter man stepped forward and cleared his throat, "Over the Mountains of the Moon, Down the Valley of the Shadow, Ride boldly ride!"
Rika looked up with a smile at Saeko who was standing on top of the Stryker, "Busujima-san? Anything?"
The swordswoman grinned and called out, "Yea though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow, I fear no evil, because I have my brothers and sisters at my back and a flight of Apaches over my shoulder!"
"Yeeeeeehaw!" the pilots cried out as the troopers cheered.
"Be ready boys, I'll be a calling!" Rika called out as she jogged to the command Humvee.
Saya stood beside the men as the engines cranked up. Saeko climbed down into the cabin as Kohta, now with his crew helmet on, turned toward them and saluted. The men returned it and held it as the convoy drove away while Saya blew Kohta a kiss.
Cowboy could see Saya was almost in tears when the group crossed the drawbridges.
He reached out and lightly tugged at one of her pigtails, "Don't worry, Fireball; we'll watch over them and make sure they come back alright."
She sniffed. "You better," was all she could say.
He smiled, "Come on, there is a little lady waiting for me to show her my Firebird, and I think you might be looking for her also."
Saya sighed, "So that's where she got off to!"
000
It only took about two hours for the convoy to get within scouting distance of the raiders' village. They stopped a couple of klicks out and sent two scout sniper teams in to recon first. It didn't take long before the radio crackled to life.
"Scout one to Sakura Six, over."
Tomasa held the vehicle mic to his lips. "Six here, report One, over."
"We are to the west of their gate. They have a barricade, about shoulder high, made of all sorts of junk, all around the camp. I can see one armed man at the gate and a couple of others walking patrol around the perimeter. There are women and kids moving around inside the camp doing chores it looks like. What I don't see is a big truck that could have hauled the weapons, over."
"What about you, Scout Two? Six over."
Kohta could hear Giba reply, "Negative Six, we see the same. There does seem to be a lot of dirt stirred up outside the gate, like something big and heavy was moved through the area. Looks like the tracks go into the camp, but I can't be sure without being closer, over."
Tomasa looked over the side of the Stryker where Rika and Shouyou stood. Shouyou shrugged his shoulders and gestured with his hands, "It was parked outside the gate Captain, but they must have moved it for some reason."
Tomasa nodded and turned back to the mic, "Scouts One and Two, what kind of positions are you in? Over."
Scout One replied first, "Six, we are up in some trees about one hundred meters from the gate. Clear fields of fire, over."
Giba spoke up, "Scout Two is on a rock outcropping about seventy-five meters southeast of the gate. If they knew what to look for, they might be able to see us, but the thing is, nobody's looking. The gate guard looks almost ready to fall asleep, and the perimeter patrol is stopping to talk to people and have their rifles slung over their shoulders, like they are taking a walk in the park, over."
"Everyone hold your positions, over," Tomasa told them. He thought for a second and put the mic back to his lips. "Cowboy, Cowboy, this is Sakura Six, do you read me over?"
The response was immediate, "Roger Six, I have you five-by-five. Turning the engines over now, how quick you want us? Over."
"Looks like it will only take you about ten minutes to get here as the bird fly's, so call in when you get about five klicks out. Stay low and masked after that, and wait till called. Then I want you to popup and popup fast. Hold fire until Rika says she needs you. She's going in first. Over."
"Roger Six, get in close and hold the tree-tops. Await the LT's call. Over and out."
"Six over and out for Cowboy flight. Scout One and Two hold and be ready. Cover Rika like a wet blanket when she gets there. Any, I repeat, ANY threat to her, take it out! Six over and out." He heard two double clicks over the radio as he turned toward the pair standing on the ground. "Time to mount up. Show the colors."
Rika nodded and motioned for Shouyou to get in back of the Humvee. She walked over to the radio antenna on the vehicle and tied something to it, before unhooking it and letting it go. The antenna snapped upright with a small national flag of Japan on it.
Tomasa nodded as he did the same. Seconds later all the trucks were flying the flags.
Tomasa waved the command Humvee forward and called down into the cabin, "Let's go, Paddy!"
Kohta looked at the flag for a minute before turning and racking a round home in Ma Duce. "Ride boldly ride," he said as the APC rolled after the Humvee.
000
Back at Onohira base, Saya, Alice and several others watched as the Apache's lifted and raced north, low over the trees.
"Will they be back soon, Saya onee-chan?" Alice asked.
Saya hugged the little girl from behind, "Yeah, munchkin. Real soon I hope."
000
Stryker 1 stopped in the road at the top of the hill that led to the gate of the village. The command Humvee honked its horn as it pulled up to a now terrified guard at the gate. Rika got out and walked forward as a heavy set man ran over to the gate, an M16 in his hands.
"Who the hell are you?" he demanded as he pulled up inside the opening.
Rika was holding her hands out to show she did not have a gun in them, "Lieutenant Minami Rika of the Japanese Ground Self-defense force, I need to speak to whoever's in charge here."
"That would be me, but you can drop that JSDF bullshit! Government's gone and them with it! Now who the fuck are you!" he spat.
Rika sighed, "I told you who I am. Toma didn't believe it either and now most of his people are dead. Now what I want to talk…"
"BULLSHIT! You can try that bluff with somebody else, bitch, but no one here is going to believe you!"
Rika noticed a couple of the armed men that ran up to the gate behind the loud mouth looked at him in surprise when he said that.
"I can prove it," she slowly reached up and keyed her throat mike. The man had not pointed the rifle at her yet and she didn't want to give him a reason too now. "Get out," was all she said.
The back door of the truck opened and Shouyou stepped out. He walked forward slowly holding his hands out also. "They're telling the truth Nakata, they really are JGSDF. The government is on Tokashiki in Okinawa Prefecture. The Emperor is alive and well there."
"FUCKING TRAITOR!" the man screamed as he raised his rifle at Shouyou.
Rika's right hand snapped up and her fist closed. Before her fingers clenched, a hole appeared in the left side of the man's head and his brains blew out the other side. There was no sound except the thump of his skull exploding.
"NOBODY MOVES!" she cried out. "IF YOU WANT TO LIVE, DON'T MOVE!" She keyed her mic again and said, "Cowboy."
The two Apaches leapt over the top of the hill Stryker 1 was sitting on. Cowboy slid to a stop, hovering nose down above the command Humvee while Colorado and Red went high and circled the village.
The people inside the fence looked skyward with their mouths open in fear at the sight of the attack choppers.
Glancing up Rika could see Mississippi in the front seat with his head turning back and forth as he scanned for threats, chin gun on the gunship mimicking his motions. Suddenly, his head snapped to the left and he cried out, "Stovepipe! Going hot!"
There was a loud chattering sound for a second, as 30mm shell casings fell from the gun. Over as quick as it started he called out, "Tango down, all clear!"
Rika heard Tomasa come across the net, "You want to tell me what that was about Cowboy? Six over."
"Sorry Captain, someone just pointed a missile launcher at us. Mississippi took him out before he could get on off though. Cowboy over."
"Roger," Tomasa said. "LT? What's your situation? Over."
"Hold one," Rika replied as one of the men on the other side of the gate waved at her. "What?" she called out.
"We surrender!" he replied. "The two you shot were Toma's lieutenants. We want nothing to do with fighting the defense force!"
She looked around at the men women and children that had gathered near the gate, "Do you all feel that way?" she called out.
They all nodded or called out 'yes'.
"Everyone that has a weapon hold it up in the air with both hands. Stay that way till the troopers come and disarm you. Follow their orders and no one will be harmed."
All the men and a couple of women raised their rifles and stood silently as the Stryker and trucks rumbled up. Tomasa was climbing out by the time they stopped and Kohta had the .50 pointed in the crowd's general direction, but above their heads.
"Scouts, stay where you are for now, over," Rika said as the captain stopped beside her. They heard the two double clicks in acknowledgement.
She and Tomasa walked toward the crowd with Shouyou in tow. As they stopped in front of them a woman stepped out. "Shouyou, where are the others? What has happened to our husbands and sons!" she asked.
He hung his head, his face twisted in pain, "I'm sorry Sakuno-san, your husband is alive and a prisoner, but your son…your son is dead."
She stood with her head down and began to shake, "I told them not to go. I told them let's leave this place, but they would not listen to me. How many of them are left?"
"Nine healthy, five injured, two of them critical, when we left camp this morning. All the rest are dead," Tomasa told them.
Two other women came forward and took the grieving woman by the shoulders and lead her back to the group. The man that surrendered for them came forward and bowed.
"Urayama Jin," he introduced himself. He handed his rifle over to Takashi as the boy walked up with Tatsumi and Kurogane. "If no one else minds I'll speak for the group." He looked at the crowd and several nodded, but most were consoling each other.
He turned back to Tomasa and Rika, "I am at your disposal."
000
After talking with Urayama for a while, Rika left it to Tomasa and Shouyou and went for a walk with Tatsumi, Takashi and Kurogane. Cowboy had set down in a clearing half-a klick away while Colorado and Red went back to Onohira. The rest of the trucks, Stryker 2 and another Humvee had been dispatched to their location. It had already been decided the village would be abandoned, and the people would come first to Onohira, then south to the safe zone for resettlement.
They walked up to a spot that had been chewed up by Mississippi and his chain gun. There was a bloody mess and some bent, broken wreckage of what looked to be an RPG. Cowboy and Mississippi were already there looking at the site.
"What do you have to tell me, boys?" Rika asked as she walked up.
Mississippi held a bent tube that had some attachments on it, "LT, say hello to Mr. Stinger Missile."
"Holy frack! Is that what the hell he was pointing at you?" she exclaimed.
"Yep," Cowboy drawled. "Might not have done much to us, we were too close for it to arm, but Colorado would have been in a world of hurt up where he was. If it had gotten ahold of him…well he and Red would be a greasy spot on the ground right now."
"Where the fuck did this come from?" Rika cursed.
Cowboy looked up and pointed, "Looks like one of your men might have an answer to that question."
She turned to see Giba standing in the edge of some trees waving at them. They walked toward him and when they got close, they realized there was a semi-truck and trailer hidden in the tree line with brush piled around it.
"Well this seems to be the truck we were told about," she said.
"US Army too," said Cowboy. "I'll get the numbers off the cab and call them in. We'll see if we can figure out where it came from." He paused, "That is with your permission, LT. This is your op after all."
Rika nodded, "Yeah, we need to know where this stuff is from, and if we need to go secure any more of it!"
Walking around the back of the trailer they looked inside. It was still about two-thirds full of green crates with US markings on them. Lying on the ground at the doors was a green fiberglass box that said 'FIM-92 Stinger' on top. Flipping the lid open, they saw it was empty except for a few odds and ends.
Rika stood up and looked into the trailer again. She could see three more boxes like the one on the ground as well as boxes of ammunition, rifles, hand grenades and others she could not readily identify. The trailer was full almost to the top.
"Damn it to hell, where did all this come from?" Rika said out loud as Mississippi walked up with a clip board in hand.
"Well," he started in his southern drawl. "It seems someone had orders to move this stuff from Yokota Air Base to Sasebo Naval base. According to the dates on this it was about three days after Z-day."
He flipped through the rest of the papers and shrugged his shoulders, "That's it, nothing about what happened in between. It's got an inventory here so we can check against that to see what's missing."
She took the clipboard and quickly flipped through it herself. Sighing, she handed it back and looked at Giba, "Can you drive this thing?"
He nodded, "Just tell me where you want it."
"Let's get the brush cleared away and you can put it by the gate for now," she said.
As they started clearing, they realized Saeko was standing behind them. Rika turned to her, but froze when she saw what the girl was doing. She waved the others quiet as she edged closer.
"Saeko-san, what's wrong?" the woman asked in a low voice.
Saeko had her head tilted and eyes narrowed as she seemed to be sniffing the air, "Have you seen any undead? Urayama-san said they normally get four or five a day, but had not seen any so far today."
Rika shook her head as she reached for her throat mic, "Minami to all, has anyone seen any zeds? Over."
A flurry of no reports came back no till a trooper said, "I'm on the north end of the camp. It's gotten real quiet here all of a sudden. No birds or anything making noise, over."
"Stay alert and be watchful. Over and out," Rika said as she turned to Cowboy. "How much flight time do you have before you have to refuel?"
He thought for a minute. "About two hours if I baby her, but that would be cutting it a little close. I would rather refuel after another hour just to be safe."
"How long would it take for you to do that?" she asked.
"Let's see, the helicopter carrier Iwo Jima is just off the coast, so I could get there and back in say forty-five minutes if there is no wait at the pump. Tell you what though, I can send Colorado to fuel now and he could be back and flying cover while I make a gas run."
Rika nodded, "Let's do that and get you in the air. If Busujima-san is feeling it, then I'm betting there are zeds in the area. Hit the road and be careful."
Cowboy and Mississippi nodded and pulled their pistols as they started towards their aircraft.
Turning to Takashi next she said, "Go with Saeko-san and do that thing you do. Let the Captain know what's going on. Giba, Kurogane and I will get this thing rolling and be there ASAP."
Takashi nodded as he and Saeko started back down the trail the truck had left to the village.
A/N: As always, please leave a Review and/or Favorite!