CHAPTER 4

"Prelude to the scouting mission"

0920 hours…

"This is unthinkable!" One military ranked man said while members of the Kremlin along with chiefs of staff for the war were there for the meeting. "To think that being pushed back from Moscow is one thing that's bad, it only worsens as we can't even get a single image from space that is clear!"

"Calm yourself, Colonel Molotov," Brezhnev said in reply. "You already know the conditions of this and why. Jamming signals are being used each time our radars are the ones used for observation. Use telescopes and we can't even get a clear observation of the situation above the atmosphere. This is why the scouting mission Colonel Bosconovitch suggested could be an excellent plan."

"Of course you'd think of that! The launch pad is already being constructed, and you made the call."

"It is the only call that should have been done to make sure we're on time. If we don't do it now, we'll never be able to see any of our shuttles go in the air. A wave is fast approaching from the southeast and it might shoot down the shuttle."

"Where the hell is Colonel Bosconovitch anyway?"

"He said he will be on his way. And he will attend this meeting like it or not. Now… Let's discuss frontline positioning. Gentlemen, present your current situations… IMMEDIATELY."

While the meeting was taking place, Valentin, who was walking at one of the hallways of the Kremlin, was already dressed in his military uniform, even completed with his hat. Beside him was none other than Relius herself in an Orussian army uniform. The only difference to her face was her black framed glasses.

"Tch." Somehow, Valentin thought it wasn't going to change things.

"I know what you're thinking. It's the glasses, isn't it?"

"Umm…"

"There's no need for you to tell me. I'm going to make it clear: It's a good cover."

"Oh, come on."

"How else was I able to follow you, colonel?"

"You have a point, but don't you think it would be too obvious from the last time you followed me?"

"It wouldn't matter. I would show myself in front of Brezhnev himself and he would be surprised."

"The General Secretary will be quite pissed, maybe."

"He shouldn't blame you, because you agreed to do this with me as we talked about before."

"Still… It's making me nervous, Your Majesty. Brezhnev won't be an easy man to impress. He's simply straight in his rule in the communist party, and he's a bigger influence than Stalin since he's able to make a mark in history to eliminate waves of Neuroi with V4 rockets Nazi Karlsland once used."

"Hmm… I still wonder where Hitler is though."

"Why did that subject come to mind now?"

"It's just one of my interests. It's still unsure of where he would go at this time, you know."

"I'm not sure how it's related to Operation Global View."

"Neither do I." Relius chuckled. "You just want to focus. You should relax."

"I can't, after saying Brezhnev is not going to be easy to impress."

"See? You should think about your own skin and be confident about this."

"It's easy for you since you've live longer than I have."

"Just silence that negative mouth of yours and smile." Relius was beginning to get irritated at his nervousness. "You are an officer of the military. You shouldn't be afraid of this."

"This isn't a regular report, you know. I'm presenting you as a Neuroi queen. How would they react?"

"Let me guess: You could be put in an execution. Or… they could shoot you on sight."

"Don't tell me that!"

"You asked me how they'd react and I told you."

"But it sounded like you wanted to kill me!"

"I'm joking. For a human who's intelligent, you seem gullible at times."

"Thanks. I'll make sure to remember that." Valentin just groaned before he finally got to the double doors where he knows the room should be. "This is it. Are you ready?" And with Relius nodded, he held the door.

"OUTRAGEOUS!" One military officer reacted in the meeting room. "How would a Neuroi faction be able to give us support? We never heard of an alliance made between any human military squadron with Neuroi who fight their own!"

"It was only put into rumors, comrade General." Brezhnev responded with a calm tone. "However, if that were true…"

"…It wouldn't be true in my book."

"It would be true in another, comrade. Don't assume that it's not possible. We might not know the facts yet, but we should start thinking of this ourselves: How many of our comrades volunteered to fight and then died after a few days? We can't take that many casualties until the end of the war or we will exhaust our forces instantly. Taking the scouting mission at this time is one logical choice because we need to see what we're dealing with, instead of fighting blindly. At least if we have an idea, we'll see what we can do from there. We discussed this with Colonel Bosconovitch's presence once in this room. Why are more doubts?"

"Would you believe we can say he's washed up even as a military intelligence officer?"

"Nonsense. I treat him like my son."

"Great. Now you're just treating him like an illegitimate son."

"Comrade, you're just breaching the walls of personal conversation to a formal one. Focus. Now, as I was saying…" Before Brezhnev would continue, he saw Valentin walk in. "Ah, Colonel Bosconovitch. And…" He seemed surprised to see a female military officer in glasses inside the room. He glanced away so she wouldn't gain attention from her. "Colonel, take a seat with Colonel Molotov."

Valentin nodded before he took his seat beside Colonel Molotov. "Colonel Molotov, how did everything go?"

"Everything's great, just before you arrived."

"You don't like me." Valentin chuckled afterwards.

Relius took her place just took her time to stand at the corner of the room. 'I have to wait and see if Valentin opens up. It's better he introduces me.'

Brezhnev cleared his throat. "In the matters of territory, Orussia Minor is almost liberated with Neuroi forces and will continue to defend itself against the same enemies. The issue of the Neuroi coming from the occupied Karlsland is the main issue. Without proper support in the Minor, now occupied in just defending, the push from there would be impossible. Defending forces would have to be reinforced. The main problem right now is the Southeast Xingiet Neuroi forces that are keeping our forces occupied in defending. If we pull them back now, Xingiet will immediately be open for a direct Neuroi attack from the south. But if we leave the Minor while not reinforced, it will be most probable that the west and central regions will fall within the next few weeks. We've got to find additional forces as the rest of the original Allied Forces are currently occupied in Europe, Africa and somehow in Southern Liberion near Bruruil."

"Can't we just ask the Xingiets to reinforce the Minor?"

"That is the most ridiculous suggestion I have heard, General Volkov! You know what happens when Xing's east side isn't guarded well! Our navy is the only thing that's keep them alive right now, and they don't have a reinforced military concentration from that area. It's hard enough to maintain and you want to deploy forces from there!"

Valentin groaned. 'This conversation might lead nowhere. I have to lead this conversation as soon as possible. They're desperate enough as it is.' "Excuse me." He raised his hand as he said those words and everyone stopped to listen. "There's another way out of all of this, you know. Supposedly, the subject I have is related to Operatsiya: Global'nyy vzglyad itself. However, this may help the other two problems we have."

Colonel Molotov groaned. "Just silence yourself, Comrade Valentin. Even though you are smart, you still want to banter after your idea is heard and accepted…?"

"I WILL NOT HAVE IT!" Brezhnev interrupted Molotov and the irritated colonel was silenced before he glanced towards Valentin. "Continue."

Valentin nodded and continued. "You see, I was able to track another faction that may be able to help out in both the operation and the reinforcement of Orussia Minor. Weird as it may seem, there's another faction of the Neuroi that broke off from our enemies to combat them for themselves in the past. I made contact with one representative coming from them." And the others gasped at this.

"Are you crazy?!" Colonel Molotov was really feeling annoyed of what he thought was Valentin's antics. "You're making it seem like our manpower isn't enough. Plus… how the hell did a representative from this mysterious faction ever come to meet you?!"

"Explain yourself." Brezhnev seemed suspicious of Valentin like the rest in the room. "When did you make contact with this… representative?"

"I met her last night."

Then Brezhnev glanced towards the young white-haired woman in glasses. 'Could it be her?'

Relius looked at the General Secretary with curious eyes. 'He's watching me. I think this is the right time.' "If I may…?" And unexpectedly, Colonel Molotov stood up and aimed his pistol at her.

"Who the hell are YOU?!" Molotov seemed to be too suspicious of the woman. "You are a suspicious figure and I never even saw you before in the Kremlin!"

With this, Brezhnev slammed his hands on the table. "Comrade Colonel, what in the hell are you doing?!"

"This woman is certainly not from around here?!"

"We are going to settle this formally without any violence!"

"Somebody aim at her, NOW!" Colonel Molotov's orders easily came to surrounding guards with AK's and they immediately cocked their assault rifles before aiming at her. "Whoever you are, you're not from around here!"

Valentin had to do something and immediately walked towards her before she stopped in front of her and blocked Molotov's aim at her. "Colonel, this is madness! Put the pistol down!"

"You're in on this, aren't you?! You shouldn't be forgiven! You've lead her in here, and we're not even on our deathbeds!"

"Calm down, Molotov!"

"SHUT UP!"

Brezhnev knew it was getting too tense in the room. "This is madness, Colonel Molotov! Put the gun down!"

"I WILL NOT!" He kept glaring at Valentin. "I knew I was right about you! You're nothing but a hotshot from the provinces! You're too gullible for forces you won't understand at all! You know the Neuroi are simply killers!"

Relius snapped at this. 'No! That's not true.'

"Of all people to lead us to our deaths… IT HAD TO BE YOU! Of course… You were just going to suggest a scouting mission, and lead those cosmonauts to their deaths. If not them… US! You should never be trusted in this!" Molotov lowered the hammer of his pistol and put his finger on the trigger. "Comrade Valentin, you can no longer be trusted, even at anyone else's standards."

The queen knew this had to be stopped… immediately and shouted: "That is… ENOUGH!" With the force of her voice, Valentin was thrown forward while Molotov was thrown back, knocking both men from where they stood. The one's in their seats braced themselves. The armed guards even stumbled at the force of her shout that even they didn't see it coming.

As soon as Valentin and Molotov were on the ground and were slowly recovering, Brezhnev looked in fear and surprise at the girl now showing small blue-tiled hexagons on her body. 'Wait a minute…' "So… it is true."

Relius knew what she had done and made sure her blue lines fade before looking at the General Secretary. "General Secretary. Please... allow me to speak out. Please… don't be afraid."

As Molotov stood up and got his pistol, he was punched by a general and passed out cold on the floor. "Tch. I always hated Molotov." With the concerned general's word for it, a stray chuckle came from another colonel in the room.

Brezhnev slowly stood up from his seat and glanced at the woman. "You sure have quite an entrance. But you know what you are. Identify yourself."

Relius nodded. "I will. But I want to ask of you: When I show you who I am… please… Do not show hostility towards me."

"It has to be shown. We're not sure of what you are, woman."

"Then it should suffice. Please… allow me to show you." And when Relius said it, she closed her eyes before her whole body glowed. She started to transform herself as her attire was slowly being replaced by her white Neuroi armor. Soon, her wings became exposed as she spread them. And with her transformation came the blue hexagon tiled into lines on her body. Her transformation ended in front of the other members of the Kremlin's army chiefs with awe coming from them.

Brezhnev could only describe her transformation and her appearance as something… surreal but somehow, soothing. "What exactly… are you?"

Relius opened her eyes and glanced towards him. "General Secretary Brezhnev… Allow me to introduce myself. I am Queen Relius Abernathy, ruler of the Blue Neuroi faction. I know there's so much you don't understand. But don't be afraid. I will not harm anyone."

"Then who are your enemies?" As Brezhnev asked, Valentin observed as he was still standing, while the others stayed on their seats in silence.

"The Red Neuroi." She answered calmly as she knew it was the next thing that could have been asked. 'It seems they still are insecure of my presence.' "It won't be known to the others outside the room. I suggest all the doors are locked."

And just like that, Brezhnev saw the armed guards locking the two doors in the room just like that. 'Does she instill fear in the hearts of man?' "Tell me something… Queen Relius, if that is your name."

"I'm listening."

"Were you the contact that Valentin spoke of?"

Valetin glanced towards Brezhnev. 'It seems he wants to find out something about my involvement.' Then he glanced back at Relius, who has the answer.

"Yes, I observed him first before I made contact with him."

"It seems rather unusual the queen does the observing."

"Sometimes, when your own subordinates are out and currently fighting, you would do the tasks you think are best, for yourselves."

"That's true. But why you?"

"I wanted to gain his trust immediately. That, I would be honest of."

"I see. You manipulated him."

"No. I told him the truth about myself, almost getting a bullet from him. I knew I would risk myself for whatever happens and he didn't shoot. He knew about his own past being a burden, yet he didn't shoot. Something from inside him made him confident about the good the Neuroi could still do if ever it was still possible. And I've come to him for not only that, but I also told him of a plan to help fight with humanity."

"…with humanity?"

"Yes. You see, you all face the Red Neuroi forces, led by King Treyarch Austerys. He was once a ruler of our home planet. But when he came back, I only found out he conquered a militarized planet, destroyed it, and gained his power. With it, he brought home a lust of power, which consumed our home planet in only years. I had to be in exile with my subjects for that and kept observing them. I was still weak and still anticipated his moves and eventually, we found out he got here."

"I see."

"What I didn't expect… was that humans with lust of power didn't know about the power they held."

"Those shards… they were related to these Red Neuroi forces you speak of?"

"Yes. Austerys somehow tricked the holders of those shards to thinking they hold a power that could lead the users invincible. He ordered the ones who summoned the Red Neuroi executed while the rest of the king's forces take over the very spots where they were summoned, and spread from there."

"So that's how it started."

"Yes."

"Orussia Major has been dealt as one of the nationwide victims on their first try. This is shameful." Brezhnev muttered to himself.

And Valentin knew it while taking his seat. "Sir… you believe her?"

Brezhnev pounded a fist on the table. "The whole time, we never saw it coming! It was no wonder that they were able to catch us off guard. They already knew we were vulnerable."

"What are you saying…?"

And the General Secretary changed the subject. "Never mind, Comrade Colonel. It's best we focus on the problem at hand." He glanced back towards her. "How would you suggest you provide assistance? Colonel Bosconovitch once mentioned of a way to provide assistance to Orussia Minor and the current operation we're going to conduct in space."

"It's rather simple." Queen Relius started to explain. "Currently, my forces have engaged the off-planet forces belonging to the Red Neuroi. My subordinates can be contacted from there so we would be able to coordinate. It's a good plan this operation goes on, but the Red Neuroi trackers will immediately spot you while you leave the atmosphere. With that to address, we wish to give you cover while you scout the areas you need to observe."

"So… a squad will accompany our shuttle?"

"That's basically the task I will give to the current squad. You see, while were able to recover our strength and make a fighting force, we were able to secure another planet on a neighboring galaxy. With it, we found a whole stock of military hardware that we were able to use for ourselves. BN drone fighters can be used to escort your shuttle, and about three can cover you with the least probability of being spotted by long range artillery ships belonging to the king."

"A formation flight then."

"Exactly."

"Hmm…" Brezhnev was thinking about this deeply. 'She has a point. Without cover, they would just be entering a piece of territory belonging to our enemy. If we fly blind…' He sighed at this. "IF we fly blind, we would regret it."

"That's why you have my forces to cover them."

"First off… How do we know we could trust you?"

"Perhaps, I could shed some light about the current situation in space then?"

"Then we could have seen what we needed."

"Not necessarily, General Secretary. I'm going to show you a representation of the current situation." Relius then put her hand out before a little glow came from it. Then, what appeared to be a glowing ball of light traveled from her hand to the center of the room. Suddenly, the ball of light expanded and a whole system of stars came to the room like a three-dimensional image. Everyone was awestruck about this. Then, she started to speak up. "Let's get to the facts. You're now looking at the current Solar System where your planet is supposed to be right now. This is us… here." She pointed to a section where her forces are supposed to be, just near Jupiter. "Currently, we've tracked a major count of Red Neuroi forces near the Jupiter area. However… some waves are able to slip by us and are able to get behind the original defense line near Mars. We had to put up a perimeter around here too. At this area, my right hand Elite Guard Saiojin is commanding the Mars defense forces. What you should worry about from the Red Neuroi is their distance to Earth can easily be closed up by the large artillery ships and trackers not usually given notice until it's too late. Thanks to a secondary line that's made near Earth, we're able to see them coming. Saiojin's able to extend the defense force's reach until there. While that's possible, your scouting mission is still good to go. Otherwise, more swarms of Red Neuroi forces will flood your operations area. By now, you already know that the moon's your only piece of area in which you can cover. Once Red Neuroi forces are able to use the trackers and artillery ships, we can ward them off. You can even take photographic evidence yourself and get your proof."

"Simple… but not easy." Brezhnev muttered it to himself.

"Nothing is easy, General Secretary. This might just be your only shot."

"Indeed. Our shuttle doesn't have enough fuel and can only go so far before it gets stuck. If you really could provide us the assistance we need here, our mission could be more successful than how we imagined it would be. But…" He cleared his throat, getting the attention of the others. "You will always have something from us, in return. I'm sure you're expecting something like this."

"No." Relius smirked at him. "After this operation is completed, we would reveal ourselves to the rest of the world as well. Then… we shall be… at your disposal." At this, the others are shocked.

Even Valentin seemed to be curious of how the Queen wouldn't expect anything else from Earth after they assist them. "Wait… you didn't tell me you'd tell this yourself! Are you sure about this?!"

"Colonel… Surely you were listening." Relius had her hands on her waists. "I'll be able to provide assistance to Earth to even the odds between us and the Red Neuroi. I'm not allowing him to gain control of this planet. It'll be slow, but I believe they'll accept us in full."

"This will be pretty messy at first."

"I know, Valentin. It's not foreign to me any longer. I know they'll be shocked at first. That's why I'm making sure I tell them my intentions once this op is over."

Brezhnev cleared his throat to get their attention. "If that's the case then there's no other discussion. We need to see the expeditionary forces' escorts if what you say is true."

Relius nodded. "Of course. I'll tell Saiojin about the escorts and send them over as soon as possible."

"Let it be known to the rest of you in this room… This meeting is now considered classified and shouldn't leave these doors. Any information you pass would closely be coordinated in my terms." Brezhnev gave this order, and the rest in the room had agreed with him. "Then it is decided."

The queen looked at the other Kremlin army superiors. "I'm sorry if I cause all of you inconvenience."

"Are you kidding? You just gave us hope here!"

"Same with me! You certainly have guts!" And that man laughed.

"If you can show you really have promise then we can have a good relationship."

Valentin sighed in relief. "At least all of you are able to listen well." Then he glanced at the unconscious form of Colonel Molotov still out cold with his back against a wall. "But what about Colonel Molotov? How's he going to react?"

Brezhnev chuckled. "I think I may have an idea on how to really persuade him." He glanced at the queen. "Think you could show him what you showed us?"

Relius smirked. "I think I can do more than that, comrade General Secretary."

Colonel Molotov suddenly bolted awake as he sat up at an unfamiliar place. "Where am I?!" He immediately got on his feet as he looked around the majestic throne room of a place he didn't know of. "What is this?"

"You're in my throne room." Queen Relius spoke as she was in her Astral dress and was seated as she rubbed her ball. "It's nice to see you, Colonel Molotov."

"Is this a trick?!"

"If this was a trick, you would have hallucinated instead."

"Then you're a hallucination!" And without warning, he saw Valentin walk from beside him and punched him. "Ow!" This time, Molotov felt his face in pain and kept himself stable to stand. "Damn… This reminded me of…" But before he could finish, he realized he really felt the punch and the pain from it. "Wait… this is no dream?"

Valentin sighed. "Molotov, your senses are running quite smoothly."

"Bosconovitch?! What are you doing here?!"

"After you were knocked out by General Ivan himself, we had to discuss about the operation itself."

"And you did that without me?! What is the big deal about…"

"She came to help us out the whole time, Colonel Molotov. When did I ever lie to you?"

"You didn't, but…"

"When will you ever learn to trust me? You always looked at me as if I was actually too small while I have a reputation as an intelligence officer."

"Tch."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Enough." Both heads turned to Queen Relius. "I suggest you both settle your differences for the better. Otherwise, no agreement would come after all this."

Molotov glanced away from her and turned to Valentin. "If you seriously have a knack for drawing luck in, then you probably lured in too much luck."

Valentin smirked. "Do I?"

With a sigh, Molotov continued. "For some annoying colonel, you have it. But mark my words." He offered his hand. "If I die in this crazy plan of yours, you visit my family every passing week after my death."

Valentin chuckled before he reached for Molotov's hand and shook it. "Silly man. Just visit them yourself."

Molotov tightened his grip on Valentin's hand. "This is no laughing matter." And he kept shaking his hand. "Once this war is over and my family sees my dead body out of the boldness we've done…"

"Ugh… You're so dramatic!" Valentin eased the pain but was able to pull away from his tight grip. "Wheen did you become so good in drama?"

"I am not! Tch." Molotov then approached the queen before he kneeled briefly and stood up to respect her. "Crazy as he may be, I want to end this war with less casualties as much as possible. If you really can help, we all appreciate it."

Relius raised an eyebrow. "You seem to trust me."

"If Brezhnev is truly right about you, I may as well start believing in a new hope you could give us all. This operation is important to us and for the people of Orussia. If you truly have a big contribution and an alliance to keep, I suggest you act accordingly as he expects."

Kaziri chuckled while being beside the queen's throne the whole time. "You shouldn't doubt Queen Relius, Orussian."

"It's not about doubt. It's about the promise she's telling us."

"It's all the same, Colonel Molotov."

Molotov glanced from Kaziri's eyes to Relius. "Can we receive what you tell us we would receive?"

"…With my heart, you will." Relius smiled in confidence to her words.

Molotov briefly looked beside him where he knows Valentin was. "You certainly keep a good company."

This made Valentin blush. "T-That's not...!"

And Molotov laughed at the matter. "Whatever your reasons for bringing her, I think we both agree on her intentions." And he finally turned to her. "Whatever you told them about your plans, please… tell it to me too. I'm sure Brezhnev wanted that?" Relius nodded afterwards before she began her short briefing with Kaziri, Valentin and Colonel Molotov himself.

Valentin – And I thought things wouldn't go smoothly.

Relius – Don't consider that to be all true with all conversations. There's still a long way to go before we truly become trusted. This operation will only be the beginning of a new friendship…