Chapter 21: Aftermath.
A Russian soldier was walking across the cold runway of a Soviet airbase towards an awaiting helicopter. It was a Mil mi-6 heavy transport chopper that was readying for takeoff. As the soldier approached the helicopter, he noticed a sign that read:'No vehicles beyond this point.'at the edge of the camp's fence. The sign was located at the eastern boundary of the camp next to the exit gate which led into the wilderness beyond. The soldier thought it was strange. He had not seen such a sign on the western side of the base.
As the soldier boarded the helicopter, he could see the rest of his new unit was already there waiting for him. Most of the men had strapped themselves into their seats, but one of the officers was standing in the front walkway with his head between the passenger area and the cockpit talking to the pilots. The stripes on his jacket gave his rank away. The officer seemed to hear the late arrival step aboard the helicopter. He leaned back to take a look and then leaned forward again to say one last thing to the pilots before turning to face the arriving soldier.
"You won't be needing this." The officer took the rifle from Private Niko's shoulder, checked to ensure there was not a round in the breach, and then unceremoniously tossed the rifle back out of the still open door of the helicopter. "I can see that they did not properly brief you." The officer went to work, removing the ammo from Niko's various pouches, and likewise, throwing them out the door. Finally, he unfastened Niko's grenades. Those, the officer did not toss out. Instead, he carefully placed them into a compartment inside the chopper. "There, your burden has been lightened comrade. Have a seat over there, we will be taking off shortly."
Private Niko did what he was told but was confused as to why he had been so thoroughly disarmed. As he took his place amongst the row of soldiers, he noticed that none of them had any weapons that could be seen either. It made him nervous. He did not understand why they were setting out on their mission seemingly defenseless.
Before Niko knew it, the helicopter was taking off and the officer was taking the last remaining seat next to him. The helicopter only raised about a hundred feet into the air before it turned and started moving forward. It stayed around that altitude, skimming just above the tree line. Niko was right next to a window and could tell that they were flying unusually low. If the pilots were not paying close attention to their surroundings, they could easily collide with a tree that was taller than average or simply run into a hillside. The terrain around them was mountainous and uneven.
"I'm guessing this is your first trip out here?" The officer observed. "I can tell that you are confused by all this. It's understandable. What have they told you so far?"
"Before being transferred out of my old unit, my last C.O. said that I would be taking part in a mission to the Kamchatka peninsula. That I was replacing someone who fell terribly ill last minute." Niko answered.
"Yes, my regular radio man." The Soviet officer noted. "His appendix burst two days ago, the lucky bastard." Niko just sat there blank-faced, not sure how to reply. He didn't understand why that would make him lucky. "I get the impression that you are lacking vital information about the mission." The officer continued. "I'm First-Sargent Dimitri Petrovitch. I am in command of this mission. The air base we just left is about two-hundred miles away from our objective, but the chopper can't take us all the way there. We are going to fly until we're about fifty miles away from the target area, and from there we will set out on foot. That is, if we make it that far." Dimitri noted, almost sinisterly. "Even flying this low, and at dawn, it's still pretty risky. The Rodans tend to be less active during this time of day, but we have lost other expeditions miles before reaching the forward staging area. Our objective is to locate the exact position of the Rodan's nest. I'll tell you more after we land, but for now, I suggest getting some rest. You're going to need it."
...
Marcus sat in a dark room watching footage of the aftermath of Godzilla's attack on Tokyo. The black and white picture on the screen panned from left to right, slowly showing a mostly flattened landscape within the city, only broken up by the occasional ruined building. Far in the background, there were still many fires blazing.
"Marcus, are you still watching that?" Brock asked, entering the room. "You've been up all night." Marcus didn't answer Brock. Instead, he just kept watching the television.
The picture had meanwhile lurched back to a few hours earlier to a live recording of the monster's attack. Even hours later, and after multiple viewings, the scenes of utter destruction felt unreal. It made Marcus sick to his stomach. In the footage, Godzilla inflicted devastation to the city at will. He toppled Tokyo block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood. Fire, death, and carnage on an industrial scale. It was horrendous to witness, yet mesmerizing.
In the aftermath, the dead in Tokyo outnumbered the living. Those who were still able-bodied tried to pick up the pieces, but simply could not keep up. Bodies were stacked up in the streets for collection and burial, but there were so many victims. To make matters worse, it was hard for relief vehicles to drive through the streets since most of the roads were still obstructed with large chunks of debris. As a result, the dead were piling up like heaps of cordwood on the sidewalks. Many of the casualties were so badly burnt that they hardly resembled people anymore.
The cameraman from the news station tried not to focus on the dead, but they could still be seen in the background of numerous shots. The broadcasters described it as 'The Nightmare in Tokyo'. The name was fitting. So much human suffering and death all at once. The images were unearthly, as if they weren't real. The raw horror of the situation was incomprehensible.
The world as a whole was left in shock. To think that a single monster could wipe out an entire city in the space of twenty-four hours. No one would have thought it possible before. The true depths of the threat Godzilla posed were finally beginning to be understood. Other monsters had caused damage and went on rampages, buthewas unlike anything that had come before him. Godzilla was far more destructive and dangerous to mankind than any of his predecessors. What really scared people the most was the fact that it could happen again at any time in another city. There wasn't anything standing in Godzilla's way. No weapon the military had in their arsenal was capable of stopping him.
"Marcus, we have new orders from the Admiral." Brock began again, trying to acquire his attention. "The Japanese Government has rescinded the order to stay out of their waters. They have mobilized their fleet and requested aid. I think they are scared shitless by this new monster. We are to set sail and rendezvous with them at Odo Island."
"Okay Brock, I hear you." Marcus acknowledged and sighed. "Let's go."
The two of them left the officer's club, walking back out into the daylight. The world felt different walking the streets of town. There was an emptiness compared to how it had been just a day ago. It was as if the whole planet had shifted on its axis and was slightly off kilter. There was a feeling in the air that things had changed and would never be the same again.
Brock and Marcus passed by a newsstand that was selling newspapers in English for the GIs. The front-page headline read: "Godzilla Flattens Tokyo!" Dr. Orsini happened to be standing there reading through the main article. He looked up as he heard Brock and Marcus approach him. Brock said nothing, but he motioned for Dr. Orsini to join them on their way to the ship.
"I've never seen the likes of this!" Dr. Orsini said, coming alongside them and rolling up his paper.
"None of us have." Brock agreed grimly.
"There have been monster attacks before, but nothing so… menacing, so… outright hostile towards humanity." Dr. Orsini went on. "Other monsters have caused serious damage, but that was incidental. This one though… he actually seems to revel in causing destruction. Not causing damage in pursuit of its goals, but rather, its goal was to cause as much damage as possible. A monster has never leveled a city before or killed so many people. How are we supposed to stop something like that?"
"They tried to warn me..." Marcus said quietly.
"What?" Dr. Orsini asked, confused. "Who did?"
"What do you mean?" Marcus replied.
"You just said they tried to warn you." Brock pointed out uneasily.
"I did…?" Marcus asked, surprised.
"Yeah, you did." Dr. Orsini agreed. "What does that mean?"
"I have no idea." Marcus replied. "I didn't even realize I said it."
...
In the ruins of what had once been Tokyo, Shoji shuffled his way through the streets. He was on his way to a hospital. The hospital was located in a section of the city that had not only avoided being trampled by Godzilla, but moreover, was untouched by the fires that had run rampant the night before. The neighborhood around it was likewise relatively intact. There was a stark contrast to the decimated area that Shoji had just wandered out of, and what appeared to be a 'safe haven' ahead of him.
For Shoji, it was like he had finally drifted out of the nightmare of the previous night's attack. The morning's light had brought him to a comforting vision of Tokyo as he remembered it. Shoji's newfound peace was short lived though. As soon as he arrived on the hospital's grounds, the horrific reality of the situation came crashing back down upon him. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of wounded people spread out on the lawn outside of the hospital's main building.
Shoji stopped in his tracks and scanned over the scene. He had been feeling ill all morning, and just then, his symptoms came back with a vengeance. He needed to take a moment to re-collect himself. Shoji wasn't sure what was wrong with him. Despite the fact he didn't have so much as a scratch on his body, he felt terribly unwell. After a moment of nausea, Shoji pressed on towards the hospital. It took him several more minutes to shamble over to the entrance.
Upon entering the facility, Shoji discovered why so many people had been forced outside onto the grass. Both the building and the medical staff were completely overrun by the desperate, the wounded, and the dying. The smell of burnt flesh was heavy in the air. Bodies of the wounded and dead lined every foot of the corridor. Shoji could hear the crying of a small child. She was being carried away from her dead mother by one of the hospital's volunteers. The girl was wailing with grief as she was hurried past him. A tear formed in the corner of Shoji's eye. These were the people he failed to protect, and this was the consequence of his failure.
Shoji continued down the crowded hallway, trying to stay out of the way of men carrying people in and out on stretchers. He saw a doctor using an odd device to scan another small child for radiation. The machine made a scratching-like noise, which indicated the presence of contamination. The child was either unaware of what it meant or was simply apathetic to her situation. She had no discernable reaction and only stared blankly ahead at nothing in particular.
The doctor set down the device and went to fetch something for the child. While he was away, Shoji took the device and used it to scan himself. As he suspected, the machine's readout bounced up and down, making the same scratching sound as he ran it up and down his torso. Shoji's hand started to shake, and he felt like he was sinking into the floor. He had to grab a nearby counter to steady himself.
As he stood there, Shoji came to accept the simplicity of the situation. He had gotten far too close to the monster, and there were dire consequences for that. It was ironic, that whole time, Shoji thought that he had survived Godzilla's attack, but in reality, the monster had just killed him slower than the rest of his squad mates.
Shoji set the device back down where he found it and started to move back towards the hospital's entrance. There was nothing they were going to be able to do for him, and his presence in the hospital was only going to make things worse for everyone around him. He decided that it would be better for him to go off on his own.
At that point, emergency rations had just arrived by truck and were being handed out. A young nurse offered a bowl of rice to Shoji as he passed her, but he just waved his hand, declining. She didn't understand, and only watched as he kept walking towards the door.
When Shoji reached the outside, dark clouds had gathered on the horizon. He was slowing down, and he knew it, but there was still time. Shoji walked around the corner of the building and found a quiet spot that was far away from everyone else. As he sat down, he pulled out one last cigarette to smoke. It felt good to sit and rest. He was growing weaker by the moment. Shoji found his lighter and managed to ignite the cigarette with a shaky hand.
Shoji didn't know why, but he was suddenly remembering some music one of his pals forced him to listen to earlier in the week. His friend called it: 'The Blues'. It was something he had brought back from a visit to the Americas. The one particular song Shoji had listened to was just a single musician playing a sad slow melody on a saxophone. Shoji did not like it at the time, but now he was starting to see something of value in it.
As Shoji puffed on his cigarette and thought about the soft piece of music, rain began to fall down on him. He looked into his hand. The water collecting in his palm was black. All of the fires that burned the night before sent huge quantities of smoke and soot up into the atmosphere. The contaminates mixed in with the moisture and resulted in the black rain.
Shoji didn't much care. His strength was all spent. It was time. He just leaned back against the concrete and let the dark water wash over him and soak into his clothes. He lay there for several more minutes staring up into the sky. The dark rainfall extinguished Shoji's cigarette about the same moment the last breath left his body.
...
In the mountains of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Mil mi-6 helicopter had arrived safely at the forward staging area. The base mostly just amounted to a landing pad that had been cut out of the surrounding forest. It was barely wide enough for the helicopter to land without catching its blades on the tree branches around it. The few soldiers who could be found manning the far-flung outpost removed the camouflaged canopy to reveal the landing zone's existence. The remainder of the base's facilities were found under the relative safety of the trees and built upon what used to be a large hunting lodge.
Upon touchdown, the soldiers in the helicopter very quickly disembarked and got out of the landing zone. As soon as the last soldier was clear, the helicopter immediately took off again for its home base. There was no time taken to refuel, and no time taken by the pilots to rest. They just got out of there as quickly as they could. The instant the helicopter was gone, the camouflaged canopy was put back into place, preserving the secrecy of the base.
Dimitri led the group to check in with the base commander, who was an old friend of his. They had brought to the outpost several things: News from the outside, orders from their superiors, and fresh supplies to help keep the forward base in operation. The FOB was the only Russian outpost still standing east of the airbase that the newly arrived airborne unit had just departed, and it was the furthest piece of real estate the Soviet's still occupied so far east since the arrival of the Rodans had cut them off from their coast.
Private Niko followed Sargent Dimitri inside the main building and noted that there was no radio equipment to be seen, a real oddity in his eyes. There was also a large fireplace within the lodge, but it wasn't lit, and didn't appear to have been utilized for a very long time. The building was instead heated by a gas furnace that had been brought in from the outside. Like the soldiers of his own group, there were no firearms in sight on the entire base.
Niko decided to just sit at one of the tables in the center of the room. From there, he watched Dimitri talk with the base commander, who was sitting behind his desk. Dimitri handed the commander several letters. The commander examined their contents before setting them aside and continuing to talk with Dimitri.
At one point during their conversation, the base commander pointed over at Niko. Dimitri glanced over his shoulder at him and went back to talking with his friend. Niko was too far away, and could not hear what they were saying, but it didn't seem to matter. The conversation was very short and ended almost as quickly as it started.
With orders and supplies passed out, Dimitri got to work readying his men for their expedition. They changed into their heavy layered gear inside the lodge and then gathered outside, double checking to ensure they had all their vital supplies. Niko saw that most of the men were shouldering bows and arrows in place of their normal rifles. He almost asked but decided to stay quiet. He himself had the heaviest burden of all, the radio transmitter. Dimitri helped him strap the pack onto his back.
With that accomplished, the team finally set out. They walked into the woods and left the few comforts the camp had to offer behind them. Dimitri made sure to keep Niko close to keep an eye on him and bring him up to speed.
"Alright rookie, they should have already told you all this before, but I want to reiterate some things." Sargent Dimitri began. "There's a different set of rules out here, things you need to know to keep yourself and your squad safe. We don't work like the regular army. This isn't going to be like any other mission you've taken part in before. Life out here is harsh, and you are going to need to learn fast how it is. Things that are normal and routine anywhere else in the world will get you killed out here. First, you will note that we are walking. That isn't just because the terrain is too tough for vehicles to handle." Dimitri noted. "It's because the Rodans have very acute senses and can smell the exhaust from trucks or tanks. The first couple of expeditions out here were crushed before they even got close to the Rodan's nest because they smelled them coming from miles away. Thousands had to die before that lesson was learned and it wasn't the last lesson that had to be figured out through trial and error."
"Yes sir, understood." Niko replied.
"No, you don't understand." Dimitri went on. "But eventually you will. You're our radio man, but you have no doubt noticed your equipment is not turned on. Unless I say otherwise, it is to stay that way. After the first couple expeditions were wiped out, the brass wised up to trying to use vehicles, but whole divisions on foot were still being picked off time and time again. Do you know why?"
"The radio signals?" Niko answered.
"That is correct." Dimitri replied. "The Rodans are somehow able to detect radio frequencies. Too many men had to perish before some egghead finally put that one together. That is how they find ships on the water, planes in the sky, and even small search teams on the ground." Dimitri frowned.
"So why even have a radio if we aren't going to use it?" Niko asked. "It's pretty heavy, you know."
"It's here if we find the nest, and that's it." Dimitri answered. "Even if we run into an emergency out here, we can't use it to call for help. The Rodans would arrive much faster than the helicopter ever could. Using a radio is like ringing the dinner bell for them. It doesn't matter much though; the helicopter pilots have strict orders to never fly beyond the helipad of the forward operating base in any case. Even if they were willing to ignore those orders, the pilots are smart enough to know the likelihood of coming back from this far out shrinks more and more with each mile. The brass back in Moscow still think of this asourterritory, but make no mistake, this isthe Rodan's territory now.Theycontrol what goes on here. Play by their rules, or don't come back. It's just that simple."
"How many of these missions have you been on?" Niko asked.
"Too many." Dimitri answered. "And each time we come out here, we get sent packing empty handed. The further we make it in, the more dangerous it is. Every time I've come out here, it has been with a smaller and smaller group of men. It has taken years and countless lives to figure out these lessons, but the brass will not give it up. They value the Kamchatka Peninsula too highly to let the Rodans keep it."
"Why is it so important?" Niko inquired.
"The strategic importance of this area is invaluable to the government." Dimitri answered. "They want their naval base back, and the Rodans have made a huge disruption to shipping lanes and trade routes. The topography of the area also has some unique mineral resources due to all of the volcanoes. If nothing else, it's a matter of national pride. The powers that be cannot tolerate an inch of our territory being out of their control. It makes us look weak in the eyes of the international community. We are the only country in the world to have lost any of our sovereign soil to a monster. So we have to reclaim it to save face, no matter what the cost is."
"I see." Niko replied.
"It's not just the Rodans that are dangerous out here." Dimitri went on. "The cold is one of our biggest enemies. For the same reason we cannot use vehicles, we can't light campfires out here either. The light, smoke, and smell are too obvious. The Rodans are much like modern birds of prey. They got sharp eyes and a terrific sense of smell. If you are foolish enough to light a fire at night, it only ends up bringing the monsters down on you. A team might get away with it once, maybe twice, but play the odds long enough, and eventually your luck will run out. Anyways, as I was saying, the cold is the second biggest reason men have been sent out here year after year only to end up dead. The extra layers of clothing help, but if you don't find what you are looking for, or give up soon enough, the winter will get you without the aid of fire to stay warm. Even on the warmest nights, it still gets cold out here. We are too close to the Arctic Circle this far north. You have to adapt to the cold and respect what it can do. We sleep multiple men to a tent for warmth. So, you'd better start making friends quickly. We have got maybe three months out here to search before we need to start heading back to the basecamp. If we are out here much longer past that, the Rodans won't need to worry about finding us."
"Well, this just keeps getting better and better all the time." Niko noted.
"That's not even the half of it yet." Dimitri continued. "I hope you don't smoke cigarettes, otherwise you're going to have to stop cold turkey today. We can't take the risk on that either. I'm not positive the Rodans are sensitive enough to pick up on those, but it's not worth the danger." Niko sighed, pulling out a new pack of cigarettes and throwing them away.
"Just easing my burden a little more sir." He remarked with a smirk.
"You made the right choice. Those things really will kill you out here." Dimitri smiled devilishly. "You've seen the bows by now. We have some supplies to start with, but we are going to be out here for a long time, so we have to hunt to survive, and we can't use guns. The sound of firearms would invite unwanted attention. That is yet another hard lesson we've had to learn. I've been part of expeditions that have made that mistake. The Rodan's use some sort of acoustic triangulation to find prey. Make too much noise, and those bastards can zero in on your location. That also means no shouting. Do not get separated from the group or you are on your own. If you do get separated, use the compass and map in your pack to make your way back to the forward operating base. It sounds hard, but I had to do it once myself. It's manageable. Just don't panic if you find yourself in that situation. Keep your wits about you and you'll be ok."
"I'll remember that." Niko assured him.
"You'd do well to." Dimitri assured him. "Everything we do out here has to revolve around the basis of not being detected. It is our only hope for survival. And the Rodans will come looking for us regardless. There have already been too many expeditions out here over the years. They've come to expect us anymore. And just in case you think you are safe this far out, guess again." Dimitri pointed to the tree line just a couple hundred feet down the ridge.
"Woah..." Niko could see the tops of an entire row of trees had been sheared off. In the area next to it, the forest had been cleared out entirely.
"I always go this route when I got rookies, just to show them this." Dimitri remarked grimly. "It lets them see right away this is no joke. Take everything I'm telling you seriously. Make mistakes out here and it will cost you dearly. If the monsters don't get you, your comrades will. Most of the men you see around you are veterans. This isn't their first trip out. The majority of them have had former squad-mates make mistakes that put the whole team in peril. Believe me, they would rather have an occasional soldier disappear out here and make up a story rather than have their lives put in jeopardy again."
"What else do I need to know?" Niko asked eagerly.
"Since we can't make fires out here, we can't cook. So, you are going to have to get used to eating raw meat." Dimitri answered. Niko got a dismayed look on his face. "It isn't that bad." Dimitri assured him. "The Japanese have been eating raw fish for centuries, you'll survive. Ivan over there has methods of making it safer and more appealing. There are abandoned salt mines all over the area, he uses it to cure the meat." Dimitri could see that Niko still did not look convinced. "You get hungry enough, and you'll be surprised what you will eat." He assured him. There are other alternative things you can eat in the wild too. Berries, bugs, roots. You have to get out of your comfort zone to survive out here."
"Yes sir." Niko answered. He was finally starting to understand why having your appendix burst might be the preferable option over coming out to these woods.
"That reminds me, time to start masking our scent." Dimitri stopped and signaled to the other men. "I don't know if they can detect us by our regular body odor, but I know I've never taken the chance. Being a little paranoid helps extend your life expectancy as a soldier, especially in these circumstances. Hope you like smelling like a woodshop." Dimitri took out a hatchet and started to chop some pine branches. He took the dripping sap and spread it over his clothes.
'I guess it's better to be smelly and safe, I suppose.' Niko thought, following Dimitri's example. "You're sure the Rodans have nothing against trees, right?"
"Pretty sure." Dimitri replied with a smile. "But it's also good to remember that the Rodans aren't the only predators out here. There are plenty of hungry bears, tigers, and wolves in these woods who wouldn't mind making a meal out of you. Without the luxuries of guns and fire, they aren't as afraid of us as they used to be. In fact, with so many men dying out here regularly, they've gotten pretty accustomed to the taste of man flesh. If you do happen to encounter any of them, don't run. Their predatory instinct will be to chase you if you do. Instead, stand your ground and look as big and imposing as you can. Make some noise, though not too much. Remember, there should always be other soldiers around to back you up. Predators don't generally want to work hard for their meals, they want an easy target who isn't likely to injure them in return. So, keep your knife handy, be aware of your surroundings, and always stay within eyesight of at least two other members of the group. Don't be shy about going to the bathroom in front of the other guys either. We've lost men that way in the past too."
"It's ironic that two dinosaurs have reduced us to cavemen, without even the luxury of fire." Niko pointed out. "Isn't it…?"
"Ha, a sense of humor." Dimitri laughed. "That will be useful. It should help pass the time. A good sense of humor will help you through any situation."
"Is there anything else I should know?" Niko asked.
"Sergei back at basecamp told me that we're not the only team out here." Dimitri answered. "There are at least two or three other squads already trying to find the nest. But since they are not allowed to use their radios to report in regularly, we have no idea what their status is. Even if we were foolish enough to turn our radio on, theirs' should not be. However, Sergei told me their missions were to check two sectors adjacent to ours on the map. So, it is possible we will run into them. Since we have not heard anything prior to coming out here, we have to assume that they have not been successful up until this point. Generally, the only way we find out how missions went is when squads return on their own, and sometimes, when they don't."
"What happens if a team is successful?" Niko asked.
"In that event, the orders are to call in the coordinates and then get the hell out as quickly as possible." Dimitri answered. "There's an evacuation zone set up for the helicopter to pick us up closer than going all the way back to the base camp. It is marked on the map, here." He pointed. "Whatever they have in mind, they want us out of the way quickly. When the helicopter is on its way, there is a remote radio transmitter set up to the north to pull the Rodan's attention elsewhere. That gives us a better chance to escape unnoticed. But before leaving, we are to set up another radio transmitter on the site of the nest. It can be set to activate on its own after a certain amount of time has passed."
...
"General, we are receiving a transmission from ground team one." Captain Dominov announced. "They report having successfully located target: 'Vulture's Rest'. They are ready to set their remote lure and are preparing to pull out to the evac zone."
"Understood." General Stanislav acknowledged. "Have the bombers go to standby."
"Sir, we still have other teams in the area." Captain Dominov pointed out, turning in his chair to face the general.
"I'm aware of that, but we have no way of contacting them." General Stanislav replied. "We can't let this opportunity slip away. We'll just have to hope that they are outside of the target zone."
"Yes sir." Captain Dominov replied, spinning back to his console. "I'm sending the standby code now." He typed into his keyboard. "Stick to the standard-established attack protocol?"
"Yes." The general replied. "Have the bombers approach from a southern trajectory. The diversionary countermeasure is set up in the north."
"Yes sir." Dominov responded. "Diversionary countermeasure activation protocol is fifty minutes into flight time."
"That should be satisfactory." General Stanislav observed, leaning forward in his chair. "After years of cat and mouse, we can finally complete our mission. Notify ground team one that their message has been received. Have them set their remote lure for twenty-four hours and tell them to be well clear by then. Is that enough time for them to reach the evacuation zone?"
Captain Dominov pulled out a map with a ruler, examined team one's position in comparison to the E.Z., and then started to do the math. It only took him a few moments to come up with an answer.
"Barely." Dominov reported.
"Then tell them to double-time it on the way out!" General Stanislav replied. "I'll inform Moscow of these developments."
...
Marcus looked up and saw an ancient altar in front of him. It was made out of stone and had an odd inscription carved into it. He did not recognize the language. To him, it was just incomprehensible glyphs. There was also a prominent symbol etched in the center of the altar he had never seen before, though at the same time, it was oddly familiar to him. As Marcus tried to examine it more closely, a breeze came in through the stone hallway behind him. It blew past Marcus and interrupted his train of thought.
The gust of wind grew stronger and stronger until it was whipping the collar of Marcus' shirt and pushing him forward towards the altar. The wind swirled around the platform and a yellow light emerged from the top of it. The symbol began to glow, followed shortly thereafter by the rest of the glyphs. Slowly but surely, the light swelled more and more until it filled the dark corner of the chamber. The light was warm and bright against Marcus' face. Soon, it was too bright for him to look at it directly and he had to shield his eyes. Over the whistling of the stirring wind, Marcus could make out a voice. It said to him:
"You have unleashed a power that cannot be contained." The very rock of the altar itself began to glow. It grew brighter and brighter until the stone exploded into a hundred pieces in a blazing inferno.
The light from the fire turned from yellow into blue and Marcus found himself underwater. But not just under water, but rather hundreds of feet under water. Marcus panicked at first, thinking that he would drown, but then realized he was somehow breathing normally despite being submerged. He was standing on a tall underwater ridge.
Passing right in front of him, walking along the seafloor, was the now dreaded city destroyer, Godzilla. The massive reptilian monster dominated the landscape and was blotting out the light of the sun from the surface. Marcus was shrouded by his massive shadow and feared the monster would cut his life short at any moment. Godzilla, however, did not seem to notice him. The monster simply walked along, ignoring Marcus' existence.
However, Marcus was so close to Godzilla that the water current the monster produced just from walking by swept him off his feet and pulled him into an ocean trench below. Marcus was dragged down into the dark abyss, losing sight of Godzilla as he went further and further into the depths. He drifted for an indeterminable amount of time.
Finally, Marcus settled on the bottom of the dark channel. He was so far down that he couldn't even see all the way up anymore. The light of the sun was all but extinguished by the mass of water above him. As he was not able to see properly, Marcus just sat there for a time until his eyes started to adjust. Once they finally did, he attempted to swim back up but found that he was too heavy. Each time he got a few feet up, he was pulled back down into the sand like he was wearing weights around his feet. Seeing little other choice, he just stood there and waited for something to happen.
Finally, something did. Out from the darkness, a soft blue light appeared in front of Marcus. It was slowly coming closer and closer to him, until he recognized it for what it was. It turned out to be a giant tentacle. The very moment Marcus understood what it was, the light from the tentacle expanded, revealing Gezora's body in its entirety. One of the squid's giant red eyeballs was staring right at Marcus and the monster was reaching out for him.
Marcus immediately started to swim the other way in an effort to escape, but the monster's tentacles were closing in all around him. Suddenly, an ocean vent erupted beneath Marcus and a pocket of hot air bubbles shot him upwards out of harm's way. When he came back down to the ocean floor, he landed on his hands and knees.
When Marcus looked up, he saw a large stone statue looking down on him. It had an angry human face carved into it and eons of undersea life growing on it. In Marcus' peripheral vision, he could see something moving behind the statue. He stepped around it and found the monster Manda. The giant sea dragon was curled up in his own coils and sleeping amongst some rocks.
Further beyond the monster was a source of light in the dark water. Marcus strained to get a better look at what it was, but it was hard to focus on. It just looked like a grouping of lights off in the distance. But there were hundreds of them. Just as Marcus' vision was becoming clearer, Manda began to rouse. Though Marcus had made no noise to give himself away, the monster somehow seemed to know that he was there. It snarled a warning, letting suds escape out the sides of his mouth.
Manda thrashed his tail, which collided with a column of rocks. The pillar shattered into a thousand smaller pieces, raining boulders over the entire area of the seafloor. Many of the rocks came crashing down around Marcus. A hundred-ton stone landed right next to him. Five more feet to the left and it would have crushed him where he stood.
Marcus tried to run on the bottom, but his progress was excessively slow. As he ran, all sorts of sand and debris were being kicked up by all of the commotion and displaced rocks. Through the murky water, Marcus could see two large mounds off in the distance ahead of him. Each of them had spiked protrusions on their crests. As he got closer, he realized one of them was moving. The mound to the right shifted and then lifted off the bottom of the ocean entirely before starting towards the surface. As the murkiness of the water started to settle again, he could finally see that it was Anguirus swimming.
As Marcus continued to look up watching Anguirus, he tripped on a hooked piece of coral and fell forward. He closed his eyes, anticipating a painful landing into the sharp edges of the reef, but there was no impact. Instead, he felt himself flip forward a full three-hundred and sixty degrees. When he opened his eyes, he found himself floating amongst clouds. Or perhaps he was just falling slowly.
Marcus spotted a city off in the distance. He recognized it immediately. The city was a place he knew all too well. It was San Francisco. As Marcus watched, the city began to change. Columns of clouds sprang up all over the place, slowly obscuring his view of the city until it was completely gone.
As Marcus continued to fall, he spotted something approaching off in the distance. It was Rodan flying. The monster was coming right at him. Behind the monster, were streaks of black smoke and fire in the sky. Rodan was moving so fast that it only took seconds for him to be right on top of Marcus. Marcus meanwhile was helpless to do anything other than continue to fall.
Finally, Rodan blew past Marcus at an incredible speed. The ensuing torrent of air spun him head over heels cartwheeling towards the ground. Marcus remembered some of his parachute training and held out his arms, angling them in an attempt to regain some control over his freefall. The spinning slowed, and Marcus gradually reclaimed some influence over his descent. It was none too soon. Any longer, and he was going to get sick.
As Marcus began to regain his bearings, he became aware of his surroundings once more. He could see an island off in the distance. Its most notable geographic feature was a huge mountain near the center of the island. There also appeared to be a nasty storm brewing around it. Lightning was flashing regularly. Beyond and above the island, there was a patch of sky where the stars were poking through. A constellation Marcus didn't know burnt red, making the rest of the stars fade into the background.
A final wall of clouds formed below Marcus, and a noise he recognized drew his attention down to it. Beneath the clouds, peaks of mountains and jets of fire were shooting upwards. As Marcus approached the cloud wall, still in freefall, Baragon's head sprung out from it. The monster spotted Marcus and opened his maw wide, anticipating the moment he would snap his waiting jaws shut on the fresh meat. Marcus came down and Baragon's sharp teeth closed in around him.
Marcus' eyes opened wide, and he found himself lying in his bunk on the Essex. He wiped droplets of cold sweat from his brow. He had been sleeping for ten hours, after having stayed up all night watching Godzilla wreak havoc in Tokyo the previous night. Marcus sat up in his bunk, kicked his feet over the side, and shook out some of the cobwebs. Despite all the sleep, he still felt worn out. He struggled to remember what he had been dreaming about. It was already fading fast. Despite his efforts to focus, it was evaporating from his memory.
Marcus finally gave up and got dressed. He soon found Brock, who had to remind him that the Archimedes Fleet was beginning their second day out of port sailing northeast on its way to Odo Island. It was nearly breakfast time, and Brock said that the cooks were preparing a hardy meal of steak and eggs. He suggested they get their early so they could ensure their food was as hot and fresh as possible.
Marcus could hardly say no to that. Steak and eggs for breakfast was a bad sign though. From Marcus' past experiences in the Navy, whenever his CO's fed the crew steak and eggs, it meant that they expected an especially challenging day ahead of them. Usually a fight.
Marcus and Brock quickly got through the chow line and found a place to sit. Brock rapidly destroyed his steak before turning on the eggs. He finished his meal in record time and went for a second round before Marcus could even finish half of his steak. Being as big as he was, the cooks did not hassle Brock about another portion. He had always eaten more than the average sailor, and they'd pretty well come to expect a request for seconds from him.
Meanwhile at the table, Marcus sat there deep in thought trying to remember his dream. Before he knew it, he looked up and saw that Brock had returned, but he wasn't alone. Dr. Orsini, Captain Lennox, and a few of the other marines had joined them too. Marcus felt like he had missed a big chunk of conversation while he was chewing and daydreaming. They were discussing Dr. Yamane's position on Godzilla.
Dr. Orsini was attempting to defend Dr. Yamane's stance of prioritizing studying the creature, perhaps even finding a peaceful way to co-exist with him. The word co-exist in particular caught Marcus' attention. Something about it lit a fuse inside him. Dr. Orsini continued to explain the scientific perspective until Marcus finally could not hold it in anymore.
"Peace was never an option." Marcus said, cutting into the conversation abruptly. "Dr. Yamane is a fool." He added in an uncharacteristically cold tone. "I'm sure he realizes that, now that Tokyo is in ruins." The whole table went quiet.
"Geez Marcus." Brock broke the silence, raising an eyebrow. "And here I thought you were going to speak up for the scientific point of view."
"We should only study the corpse." Marcus said coolly. "If we can even kill it to begin with."
"Okay, I can see that you didn't sleep all that well." Now both of Brock's eyebrows were lifted in surprise. "Maybe I should get you some coffee."
"No, I think Marcus has kind of a point." Dr. Orsini spoke up. "At one time, I shared Dr. Yamane's enthusiasm for studying giant monsters. I was even looking forward to my first close up encounter with one. But now that we are on the verge of such a confrontation, I'm not so certain anymore. With this case in particular, I think I would be much happier with a sample piece in a jar to work with. Tokyo was a city of eleven million people. It was ripped apart in just one night. Think about that. New York has a population of only eight million. If it can happen to Tokyo, it can happen anywhere. My family, your families, they could be killed the next time this thing strikes."
"Nothing makes you feel your own mortality quite so keenly as a close call with a Kaiju." Brock remarked. "We think of ourselves as the masters of this world, that mankind is at the top of the food chain, and there's nothing that can challenge us, but these things not only make you question that belief, they shatter the entire notion outright. I won't ever forget that night when Baragon attacked the Zao-Ming conference. Marcus and I were moments from death on at least three separate occasions. To say that we were lucky to get out alive would be a gross understatement."
"They tell you about it, but nothing prepares you for a firsthand experience." Captain Lennox spoke up next. "I was with the pacific fleet in the Sea of China when Rodan attacked us during the night. I was on the next destroyer over from the one that got obliterated. I remember thinking how easily it could have been us afterwards. I still do if I'm being honest. Just a flip of a coin, and that monster could have come crashing down on us instead. As it was, our ship nearly capsized from the impact anyway."
"It was Anguirus for me." Private Simmons chimed in. "I was on the beaches in the Philippines when that beast came crashing through our defensive lines. We threw everything we had at it, machine gun nests, mortars, tank platoons, mines, aerial bombings, and artillery. The monster just took the beating with a smile and then asked for a second helping. At one point, I was so close to the monster I could smell his breath when he roared. No… more than that, I could feel the heat from its mouth and saliva droplets hit my face. Plenty close enough for me. I lost several buddies from my former outfit in that fight. I had nightmares about it for months after that."
"I guess I can see how everyone got picked for this job." Dr. Orsini remarked.
"Yeah, I'm willing to bet almost everyone on this ship has a similar story." Brock observed. "But some of us have more than others, eh Marcus?"
"You say that like it's a good thing." Marcus shook his head disapproving.
...
After hours of walking, Dimitri and Niko's patrol was entering their assigned search zone. One hour into their search, they came across a less than encouraging discovery. It was the remnants of a previous patrol's campsite. The whole area had been thrashed with giant claw marks in the ground. It was difficult to say how long ago the attack had taken place, and it wasn't clear if there had been any survivors. The Rodans had not left any bodies behind to be found.
Some of the tents had been blown up into the tree branches, and at least one of them had an occupant at the time. Niko could see dry blood on the fabric of the tent. The man inside had apparently been impaled on the branches. Niko hoped that he had died quickly.
"This reminds me of one of my first patrols." Dimitri remarked. "We were camped along the ridge of a rockface near a stream. In the early evening, I went off to get some fresh water with one of the other guys just before the sun went down. I don't know exactly what tipped them off, but one of the Rodans came in low to get a closer look at the camp. As it flew overhead, it sent a whole platoon of soldiers inside their tents flying into the rockface and trees. Those who weren't dashed against the rocks were skewered by the trees. A corporal and myself were the only survivors left to tell the story. We had to hide out in the brush until it was dark enough to recover what supplies we could and get the hell out of there."
"Glad I wasn't along for that trip…" Niko began to say, but Dimitri shushed him, getting a very worried look on his face. He could hear something he was all too familiar with. Dimitri signaled for all his men to quietly take cover as quickly as possible behind something solid.
A moment passed, and nothing happened. As Niko sat in his hiding place, he began to wonder if Dimitri had just been on too many trips and was starting to become overly paranoid. But then Niko heard a noise too. A few seconds later, one of the Rodans passed over their heads. It was not swooping down at them though. Instead, it seemed to be flapping its wings to gain altitude.
The monster was not going full speed, but the shockwave that it left behind in its wake was still strong enough to send debris flying everywhere. Loose and dead branches began to fall from the trees, raining down all around the squad. Even a squirrel lost its grip and came tumbling to the ground. It regained its footing quickly and shot right back up into a tree once it spotted Niko nearby.
When the shower of sticks had subsided, the men began to emerge from their hiding spots. However, there was still something more that followed. Another odd sort of precipitation. As the soldiers stared up to the sky, a thick cloud of grey dust began to drift down upon them. On closer inspection, it wasn't dust at all, but rather, it was ash. More and more of it came falling down, the bigger pieces looked like grey snowflakes.
Niko was puzzled by the situation, but Dimitri quickly put all of the clues together. The Rodan had just taken off from its nest which must have been inside of a volcano. Dimitri got his team up and moving in the direction that the Rodan had come from. The nest had to be located somewhere nearby. Based on how the monster was flapping its wings, and the amount of ash still clinging to it, they had to be close to wherever it had taken off from.
...
"The northern decoy transmitter has been activated general." Captain Dominov reported. "I'm picking up the signal."
"Good, the planes are already in route." General Stanislav replied. "All is in readiness."
...
Over the sea of Okhotsk, a group of Soviet aircraft were just starting to make their way across the body of water towards the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Out in front, fighter escorts were scanning the skies for any potential trouble. They were followed by numerous medium bombers. The medium bomber's primary function was to screen the entire air group during the operation. The Russians meant to stay undetected by the Rodans while they were over the target area, and they were going to use an old British tactic to do so.
In the 1940s, the British had developed an anti-radar system called "Window" to jam enemy radar systems. Window utilized aircraft to spread a cloud of small and thin strips of black paper backed with aluminum foil called chaff across the sky in a target area. The chaff would either appear as a cluster of primary targets on a radar screen or simply swamp the radar with multiple returns. Thus, it would overwhelm a radar system's ability to identify legitimate targets with false echoes.
The Russians were hoping to jam up the Rodan's ability to detect their strike force by utilizing the same method. It was still largely unknown by what exact process the Rodans found targets in the sky, but it was hoped at the very least the operation would confuse them. In the very best case, the planes would reach the target completely undetected until it was already too late.
"Once we get close to the target area, the smaller escorts will accelerate ahead of the main body." Gregor explained to the observer he was carrying in his fighter. "Hopefully, the monsters will be so concerned with the strong radio signal coming from the ground on their own doorstep that they won't even notice us coming from such a high altitude, but the jamming effect from Window should also help camouflage us too."
Gregor was the lucky pilot picked to have a government representative assigned to his plane. His fighter had been specially altered to allow for a single passenger, though at the cost of comfort to the pilot. Given the importance of the mission, the Soviet Government wanted a firsthand perspective on the operation. Gregor was not given a choice in the matter, but he was making the best of the situation.
"So, you think we're going to be safe?" The observer asked nervously.
Gregor smiled to himself. Apparently, the observer had not been given a choice in the matter either. It must have been hard for a bureaucrat to be on the front lines of a battle. Gregor quietly wondered to himself what the man must have done, or who he must have pissed off, to be assigned to such a high-risk mission.
"In just a little while, the remote decoy radio in the north should stop transmitting, and the ground team's device should be taking its place, luring the Rodans back to the target coordinates." Gregor looked at his watch. "We should arrive there in just over two and a half hours. The monsters should arrive before us and not be able to ignore the ground team's transmissions. The device is supposed to be well hidden by the soldiers, so with any luck, both Rodans will be busy scouring the forest on the ground trying to find it when we arrive." Gregor further explained. "The timing is important."
...
Dimitri and Niko were still following the ash trail through the woods, hoping to locate the Rodan's nest. They were blissfully unaware that a fleet of Russian aircraft were already on their way to the site.
The team came to a clearing and found a harrowing sight. It appeared to be a graveyard of whale bones and other large sea life which took up an area the size of two football fields. Dimitri smiled, even as everyone else in the squad stood there in astonishment. While it was a daunting sight, it was also the most certain sign yet that they were close to the Rodan's lair. The trail of ash passed right through the graveyard.
Not seeing much other choice, the team pressed onwards and entered the boneyard. It was eerie, even for the more experienced soldiers. Some of the fallen whale's rib cages were taller than the men. Niko had to step over or through a number of skeletal remains to avoid going too far around. As close to the nest as the team must have been, every minute they lingered there put them at higher risk of being discovered, but the men could feel that their goal was within reach.
As Niko passed under a section of bones, he saw something that made the chilling situation feel that much worse. It wasn't just the remains of sea life that littered the valley. No, Niko found what was unmistakably a human skull sitting amongst the other bones. The sight stopped him in his tracks. Niko took a good long look around him, closely studying his surroundings, and realizing the individual skull was far from an isolated case. In fact, the boneyard was actually full of human remains.
From the ridge above, the party had been too far away to notice before, but now that they were in the middle of it, Niko could see the remains of hundreds, if not thousands, of human corpses. Most of them had been picked clean and left to bleach in the sun, but Niko noticed a section of fresh kills that still had strips of flesh on them. He realized it could only be from one of the other search teams. Niko started to feel weak in the knees. All of the bodies around him had to be from fallen Soviet soldiers.
"Keep moving." Dimitri ordered, coming to Nico's side, and urging him forward. "Try not to think about it."
With Dimitri leading the way, the team pressed on as quickly as they could. Soon enough, they found the other edge of the boneyard and reached the relative safety of the trees again. By that point, they could smell something in the air. It was something similar to rotten eggs. The smell was pungent and stung the edges of their eyes.
"What is that?" Niko asked, his eyes watering. "More bodies…?"
"Sulfur." Dimitri answered. "We have to be nearby one of the volcanoes."
...
Almost two hours later, the team was indeed near the base of an active volcano. Dimitri could see through his binoculars an opening in the mountain that was large enough for the Rodans to emerge from. The area below the opening had displaced rocks and loose soil around it. Some of it looked fresh. The team had spread out to look for any other positive signs of the Rodan's presence, but Dimitri was already sure enough.
"This has got to be it." He announced confidently. "Niko, get your equipment ready. I want to be transmitting and on our way out of here in fifteen minutes."
"Yes sir!" Niko replied, beginning to slip off his pack and take out the transmitter.
"Sir, I found something you need to see right now!" One of the other soldiers named Peter came up and grabbed Dimitri by the arm. "It can't wait."
"Continue preparations." Dimitri ordered Niko. "But do not turn it on, and absolutely don't start transmitting until I get back." He warned. Niko nodded in understanding.
Peter brought Dimitri to the edge of a nearby patch of woods where they could see a mechanical box sitting on its side in a ravine below. Dimitri immediately recognized what it was, and quickly made his way down the hill to take a closer look at it. He slid the last couple of feet on the loose soil until he was right next to it. He rotated the heavy box off of its side and examined it closely.
Dimitri knew that the machine could have only come from one place: One of the other teams that had been dispatched out there. It was the exact same model of radio transmitter that Niko was carrying. Dimitri could see that the machine was left on and still had power. Whoever left it there could not have done so very long ago.
At that point, Dimitri got a cold chill down his spine. If another team had been there and left, that meant that an airstrike was probably already on its way, and his team was in danger in getting caught up in an imminent attack. He needed to know for sure before he did anything else. Dimitri looked to see if the automatic decoy transmitter had been set. Peter caught up with him by that point, sliding in next to him.
"Something went wrong here." Dimitri told him. "It looks like they called in the position of the nest, but the auto-timer countdown for the decoy function isn't set."
"Why wouldn't they do that before leaving?" Peter asked. "Weren't they supposed to set it and then hide the device afterwards? Why would they just leave it sitting here in a ditch?"
"Something wentreallywrong here." Dimitri looked around for any signs of the other team. Just then, a drop of blood hit him on the cheek. Dimitri looked up and saw a body hanging in a tree branch above him.
"MY god!" Peter exclaimed. "That's one of Molotov's men!"
"We need to contact headquarters right now." Dimitri started to fidget with the nobs on the radio. "Shit, the transmitter is broken!" He jumped up and started to make his way back towards Niko and his radio. Dimitri fought his way up the hill, knowing that time was precious.
"What's going on?!" Niko asked confused as Dimitri ran up to him frantically.
"Shut up, we're in trouble." Dimitri pushed Niko aside, turned the radio on, and started to dial in the proper frequency. "This is Sargent Dimitri Nikita of ground team three calling headquarters, come in." He waited briefly for a response. "I repeat, this is Sargent Dimitri Nikita of ground team three calling headquarters, come in!"
"This is Captain Dominov at headquarters." A voice finally answered. "What do you have to report?"
"We are at the Rodan's nest site." Dimitri began. "Team one was already here and appears to have been discovered by the monsters and killed. Are the bombers already on their way?"
"Affirmative Sargent." Captain Dominov replied. "Those birds have flown."
"Do you know how far away they are?" Peter interrupted, trying to speak to Dominov himself. "Is there still time for us to escape?"
"Shut up private!" Dimitri waved his hand to get Peter to settle down. "Is there still time to call them back? Team one did not set their decoy transmitter. I repeat, team one was killed prior to setting up their decoy." There was a long silence. "Sir, those pilots are in danger of being detected."
"The bombers are already approaching the target area, and they are operating under strict radio silence." Captain Dominov informed them. "There is no way to call them back or warn them. If they are still on schedule, then they should be arriving on site in under an hour. Your orders are to immediately activate your decoy transmitter and then hide it as best you can."
"Understood…" Dimitri replied, cutting off the transmission.
"What? If we do that, we're going to get bombed by our own air force!" Peter shouted. "And that's only if the Rodans don't find us first! They really expect us to sacrifice ourselves, just like that?"
"Yes, just like that, for the Motherland." Dimitri replied. "This is the best hope to free our people from the threat of the monsters. Get ready to transmit the signal Niko."
Peter didn't look very convinced. His hand started to reach down his left pantleg, moving towards his hunting knife. Just then, a shadow loomed over the group. It was one of the Rodans passing above them. The monster was headed south in the direction of the incoming airstrike.
"It's already too late." Dimitri announced ominously.
...
Fifteen minutes later, the Soviet air group was beginning to break up into their various squadrons for the strike. The largest aircraft, a Tupolev Tu-95 was using signal lights through its windows to alert and coordinate the other planes. The Mig-15 fighters were hanging back with the large bomber while the medium bombers were starting to peel off and begin dropping their bundles.
It became apparent almost immediately that the rest of the mission was not going to go according to plan. There was a flash of light as one of the medium bombers exploded midair. The eyes of every pilot in the group were drawn to the fireball. One of the Rodans had somehow been alerted to their presence and was on the attack. The monster had pulled the cockpit of the bomber clean away from the fuselage with its talons. The other bombers evaded, getting clear of the immediate danger.
Meanwhile, the Mig fighters dropped their fuel pods in preparation for combat. Two of the squadrons split up and approached the monster from both sides. A third squadron hung back to defend the Tupolev. Rodan eyed the two groups of planes approaching, seeing their planned hammer-and-anvil style attack forming around him.
Instead of increasing speed and pressing forward to avoid the attack, the Rodan instead swung around and came right at one of the squadrons trying to attack it. The monster plowed right through three of the planes, shattering them. The turbulence-wake following behind the monster spun the rest of the planes in the formation out of control. Some of the aircraft were able to recover, but several did not. Two fighters spun out of control towards the ground below.
After winning the first engagement, Rodan accelerated, pulling away from the fighters in the second squadron who were moving in behind it. The pilots were trying to maneuver themselves into a perfect firing position and were nearly there. The monster banked hard, sensing its attackers nearby. The fighters meanwhile launched their rockets in an all-out attack, but the monster was already arcing out of their way. The unguided rockets simply streamed past it, leaving vapor trails of missed shots.
With the attack evaded, Rodan changed course again, moving towards the large bomber at the center of the main Soviet formation. The monster seemed to recognize the other planes were protecting it, or perhaps he simply saw it as the largest opponent and sought to eliminate it as a threat. Whatever the reason, the monster made a B-line for it.
"Shit, he's going after the Tupolev!" Gregor exclaimed. From his position, he could see everything that was happening but couldn't do much about it. His squadron was out of position, situated on the far side of the formation from the outset of the battle. They were still trying to get into the fight.
The fighters from the pursuing squadron were struggling to keep pace with Rodan and were out of rockets in any case. It was clear that they were not going to be able to intercept the monster before he reached the main body of the formation. In desperation, they fired their cannons. They knew it wasn't going to stop the monster, but it might distract him from his intended target. Unfortunately, it did not.
In the meantime, the crew of the Tupolev saw the trouble coming and were attempting to maneuver out of the way. It was hopeless though. The heavy bomber was far too cumbersome to escape the much more agile Rodan. The monster came up right behind the plane and sheered the left wing off. With a wing and two of its engines gone, there was no chance the Tupolev could remain airborne. The bomber fell from the sky in a corkscrew nose-dive. Gregor saw everything and watched the Tupolev all the way to the ground. He prayed that the payload wouldn't go off.
However, upon impact, an immense explosion erupted from the crash site. A vast section of forest vaporized instantly. At the same time, even more of the woods caught fire in a perimeter that reached for miles around. Gregor avoided looking directly at it, but some of the pilots around him were blinded by the flash of light and went tumbling from the sky.
Gregor pulled the sun visor on his helmet down, and by the time he looked back again, a mushroom cloud was already pushing its way up towards him. The worst-case scenario had come to pass. The bomb had gone off and neither of the Rodans were anywhere near it when it did. The mission was a complete disaster. The only thing to do at that point was to collect whatever aircraft were left and retreat back to base.
Rodan had other plans though. While many of the pilots were either distracted or blinded by the nuclear blast, the monster was busy sweeping them out of the sky one by one. There were only two members of Gregor's squadron left by that point. He very quickly decided that he was not going to stick around a moment longer.
The decision wasn't made a moment too soon. Rodan was already coming for Gregor and his wingman. Both fighters dove down to avoid the monster, but the creature managed to clip the second plane, and the fighter disintegrated into fragments. Gregor meanwhile reached terminal velocity heading down hard for the deck to escape. He only started to pull up on the stick at the last possible moment, skinning the surface of the burning trees. His heart was pounding, and sweat was running down the side of his face. His breaths were fast and shallow.
Gregor continued to skim the surface, gritting his teeth. His mind was racing as he dodged around obstacles close to the ground. He expected to be plucked out of the sky at any second, but the moment passed, and he just kept on flying.
After a minute of hard flying, Gregor pulled up slightly so he could look behind him without risking colliding with anything in front of him. He was still anticipating death to be nipping at his heels. He scanned the sky all around him feverishly, but everywhere he looked was just empty space. Slowly, he came to realize that he wasn't being chased anymore. Gregor didn't question it and instead just flew on, focusing on what was in front of him.
Gregor heard a whimper coming from behind him while flying, and only then remembered that the government's observer was still behind him in the cockpit. The man must have been pretty terrified by their shared experience. Gregor said nothing, but he exhaled hard, letting out some of the tension.
In the skies behind him, Rodan was still hunting down the remaining aircraft that lingered above the burning forest.