Steel and Sorcerers – Chapter 24
Yotiaru was just chilling in her apartment watching Death Note once again when something caught her eye. After her infiltration mission into the special region she had set up a number of cameras around her apartment complex, just in case she was found out. It seemed that day had come, as on her laptop's monitor she could see a number of suspicious looking men emerge from two dark SUVs that had pulled up in front of her apartment.
Jumping to her feet and feeling a thrill of excitement, Yotiaru quickly ran around her apartment room, deleting all evidence from her laptop and stuffing all the photos she had took of the restricted zone in a bag, along with MREs and survival gear. Finally, donning a Kevlar vest and wielding a taser, she ran out onto her balcony. Grabbing a rope she had set up earlier, she hastily tied it to the bars of the handrail before letting it drop to the floor below. There was a loud banging at her door. "PSIA OPEN UP!", before milliseconds later the door was blasted off its hinges as the agents stormed the room.
However, she was already gone, awkwardly shimmying down the rope. However, there was a shout from below. "Hey, she's climbing down from the balcony on a rope!"
'Well, shit.'
As Yotiaru finally made it down from the 6th floor where she was staying, she was instantly grabbed and slapped in handcuffs by agents waiting down below.
A couple of people came out from nearby buildings, wondering what all the commotion was. Sensing an opportunity, Yotiaru called out to them "Help, I'm being kidnapped! These men are taking me away and are going to do unspeakable things to me!"
"What are you saying!" cried a flustered agent. "She's been suspected of espionage!" he yelled out at the onlookers.
Yotiaru was then abruptly shoved in the back of one of the cars before they drove off.
"Hey, where are you guys taking me? Don't tell me we're going offshore."
There was no response, and the back windows of the car were heavily tinted so she couldn't see anything outside.
After what seemed around an hour or two of driving, they finally came to a stop. The backdoor of the car was opened, and she was allowed to step outside. Squinting her eyes against the orange glow of the setting sun, she saw they were at an old abandoned industrial wharf. Rusting cranes and old warehouses lined the water, amid a backdrop of a decommissioned refining complex.
"Hey, this place looks just like the place in the final scene of Death Note!" she exclaimed.
One of the agents turned to face her, straightening his dark sunglasses. "Imaga Yotiaru, it seems you have yet to realise the gravity of the situation you have found yourself in."
"Wait, don't tell me you guys are gangsters and are going to execute me out here or something haha…"
"I would suggest you remain silent, and avoid running" he replied.
Escorted by the group of agents, they began walking along the shore past the piers. Yotiaru spotted several agents standing guard around an old warehouse, which they began walking towards. The front roller door was pulled aside for them with a rattle, revealing what appeared to be an ad-hoc courtroom set up inside. A number of other people were already seated inside the dilapidated building, although there was the notable absence of a jury.
As the door clattered shut behind her, she was directed to what must've been the defendant's seat, which was a fold-out chair.
An elderly looking man took the podium and announced, "The trial for Imaga Yotiaru has now begun. Would the prosecutors please present their evidence."
A man across the warehouse from Yotiaru got to his feet. "Yes, your honour. As we can see…" He took a moment to rummage through Yotiaru's bag that she had been wearing when she was captured, producing a number of photos depicting the area around the restricted zone.
"As we can see, she was clearly taking these photos with the intent to pass them on to foreign governments, an act of espionage and treason. This is corroborated by the emails we intercepted between her and an unknown IP address, as well as the fact that she tried to run as soon as she knew we were coming, had an escape plan prepared, and didn't seem surprised or confused as to why she was being prosecuted. In addition, it is likely she has connections with the Chinese government, due to her past citizenship as well as the fact that an initial search for her was delayed for unknown reasons."
The man then sat back down.
"Thank you. Now, the defendant. How do you plead?"
Yotiaru glanced around, but it seemed she was all alone at her post. Gingerly, she got to her feet.
"Innocent!" she proclaimed. "Those photos don't prove anything! Also, those emails are all fabricated, I made sure to use a VP-, I mean, they're fake! Anyways, this whole thing is all super dodgy. There's no way holding a trial in an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere is legal. You'd better release me right now, otherwise I'll tell everyone about what happened here!"
"Will that be all?" replied the judge.
"Yes" said Yotiaru, taking a seat.
"Alright then. Now, for the final verdict."
Yotiaru held her breath in anticipation.
"I find Imaga Yotiaru guilty on the charges of espionage and treason. She is to be sentenced to perform an unspecified period of labour within the special region."
Yotiaru jumped to her feet. "Wait, what!? The special region, why would you even? Hmm… Wait, no! This whole trial was rigged from the start wasn't it! Let me go, it's only a matter of time before my friends find out about this!"
"Yotiaru, your 'friends' think you're currently on holidays in the Bahamas."
Yotiaru sighed. "Argh… fine. But you haven't heard the last of me, got it?"
"Take her away."
Yamato was incredibly anxious. Yesterday had been election day for who would replace prime-minister Boshihide Suga. He had won, as expected, however the peoples' reception had been worrying.
The main opposition candidate, Haruto Yamada, had made greater transparency about what was happening in the special region his primary campaign promise, something that was incredibly popular with the people. Yamato also suspected it was also quite popular with many foreign governments, who had no doubt lent him extensive financial support for his campaign.
The combination of these factors meant that Yamato had only won by a narrow margin, mostly thanks to his connections with other political parties who had lent him their support.
However, that wasn't the main reason why he was so anxious today.
There was a knock at the door to the small meeting room Yamato was sitting in. Standing up, he called out "Please come in."
Two Chinese men in formal attire entered the room, Yamato recognising one as the Chinese ambassador. The two bowed and exchanged pleasantries with Yamato, the other introducing themselves as a member of the Chinese ministry of state security, before they were invited to sit down on the couches surrounding the low table in the room's centre.
"Now, what was it that you came here to ask me?" inquired Yamato.
The ambassador responded. "Your excellency, we have recently come into the possession of certain information regarding the special region. To be more specific, an audio and video recording from within the special region itself."
Yamato gulped. He had recently ordered the arrest of a certain spy, but it seemed that he had been too late. Or rather, there had been an unexpected delay. 'Wait, was that the work of the Chinese? If so, then their infiltration was far more extensive than originally thought…'
"And what of this recording. Do you intend to make a bargain?"
"How astute of you, your excellency. Indeed, we have a proposition. In exchange for not releasing this footage, we would appreciate it if scientists from China were granted access to perform research within the special region. Their findings would of course be kept secret."
"Before I make my decision, would it be alright if I reviewed the footage first?"
"Of course. I have an edited version on my phone that I can show to you now."
Yamato's face grew dark as he watched the video. All the important parts had been censored in post, likely for security reasons, but he could tell that this was the real deal. If this got out to the public then things would certainly get a lot more complicated.
"I have a question. Why did you come to me with this footage and not the new director for operations in the special region?"
"Ah, well, Takeshi-dono is still new and inexperienced when it comes to the special region, and we thought this was a decision important enough to warrant your attention. Or rather, you would be the person most qualified to make this decision, considering your past involvement in the special region. Oh, well that's probably something that you don't want leaked out either."
All Yamato could muster was "Right…"
Hundreds of thoughts were flying through his head.
There was no way he could comply their demands. Letting China gain access to the potential of the special region could allow them to rapidly outpace Japan and its allies, and find new ways to oppress their citizens. The US would no doubt share this view, and if Yamato complied with their demands he could risk losing their support.
However, if he refused their deal they would no doubt release that video to the public, as well as spread news of his past involvement in the special region. This would create a huge wave of civil unrest, as well as ruining his image at such a critical time so early into his term as prime-minister. In addition, there would probably be increased international pressure.
Even if he agreed with their demands though, there was the chance that they might release the footage later anyways, so he had come to a decision.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot agree with your terms" said Yamato.
"I see, well that is disappointing. This could've been the beginning of a new partnership between our two countries" replied the ambassador. "The video, along with news of your involvement in the special region will be released in approximately three days-time. Until then, please contact me if you have a change of heart. I bid you farewell."
After three days there was no further correspondence, thus the information was anonymously spread throughout the internet.
A huge wave of unrest spread throughout not just Japan, but the entire world, as people contemplated whether the footage was actually real, and what else the Japanese government might be hiding from them. As expected, Yamato's popularity rapidly plummeted, leading some to speculate that he may resign sometime soon.
If anything positive for the Japanese government came from this, it would be that there was a massive crackdown on finding any spies or foreign informants involved in activities related to the special region.
However, this came at a cost, as while this purge was ongoing operations ground to a snail's pace, delaying the JSDF's advance to Feo Raizo and possibly giving any defenders more time to prepare.
Itami's squad waited in the relative darkness of a cave. Despite the subterranean environment, the area was filled with noise and activity as soldiers rushed to and fro, or awaited orders like Itami's squad. The air became filled with the scent of diesel fumes as armoured vehicles rolled past, just barely fitting through the tunnels which had been specially widened in some areas just for this occasion. The faint echo of gunfire could be heard echoing through the tunnels.
"You know, this isn't so bad" said Akira, speaking loudly to be heard over the din. "We just sit back here and wait for the IFVs to do all the work, then we come in for clean-up. Not to mention we didn't even have to come through the caves to get here. That would've been a nightmare."
"We'll still have to when we go to Feo Berkana though…" replied Kurata.
The group sat in silence for some time.
After about 20 minutes, a JSDF commander approached their group. "Alright, you guys will be supporting Bradley 12. A squad of US soldiers will be waiting at the end of the tunnels who will take you to them. Any questions?"
Itami's squad got to their feet and began trudging along the main tunnel leading to the city. The passage was quite winding, with many forked paths marked off with fluorescent tape. Floodlights lit the way, so it wasn't too dark.
After dodging many other soldiers and trucks transiting the passageway, they finally exited the tunnel into the main cavern, which housed the dwarven city of Feo Raizo. Multiple sturdy pillars supported the vast ceiling, with crystals radiating a faint glow just like in Feo Jera. Long rows of dull two-story buildings obscured any further vision. According to the dwarves the city had been abandoned around a year ago due to Quagoa sightings in the area.
"Hey, are you guys here for Bradley 12?" An American infantryman called out from amongst a group of several other men.
"Yes, we are. We'll be in your care" replied Itami.
The infantryman stopped for a moment. "Wait, you must be Itami! And this is your squad! I've heard so much about you guys. I heard you were one of the first teams to initiate contact with the dwarves. Huge respect for that, I heard it was pretty tough, we lost a lot of good men getting over here. Anyways, follow me."
Itami's squad followed the Americans through the dark streets of the dwarven city, the sound of gunfire growing louder as they walked. Flashlights mounted to their helmets and weapons illuminated the way since they hadn't been provided with night-vision goggles. This was mostly due to cost, but it turned out that they could also be used as a distractionary weapon since the Quagoa weren't used to bright lights.
"We'll be securing the western residential district" advised the American. "We'll be replacing part of the current team supporting Bradley 12, who are providing supporting fire as well as clearing out nearby buildings along the way."
Eventually the group spotted the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. It was surrounded by a group of soldiers who were guarding its flanks, as well as dashing in and out of houses along the way. The loud banging of the Bradley's 25mm gun was deafening as it blasted out-of-sight groups of Quagoa.
As the soldiers saw Itami and the American's squad coming, they called for the Bradley to halt its advance, before one came to approach them.
"Are you guys Fellows-12-3 and 4?"
"Correct. We'll take over from here. You guys go get some rest."
A large part of the current team guarding the Bradley then departed, while the remainder quickly briefed Itami's squad on their mission. Soon they were back up and running.
It turned out that they would only be seizing key areas for now, and not clearing out the entire city since that would take too long. After this, they speculated that a large number of personnel would be diverted to begin the advance to Feo Berkana, while engineers worked on building a sturdier bridge across the Great Rift.