Hōshōjima Island, Harukami Shogunate.
Unknown location.
10:30 AM
A massive concrete door built into the mountain greeted the more than hundred-men task force, its metallic frame and hard construction style stood out in contrast to what the Elysians have seen on this island. Rusted, thin metallic walkways and scaffolding-like constructs dotted around the area. Signs of degradation are as common as the dead, unburnt vegetation blanketing the area, giving the area a haunting yet familiar vibe to the Elysians.
The entire place seemed more like a typical abandoned industrial area rather than something that the Harukamians could build, prompting the Elysian Marines to exchange weird looks between themselves. Only one thing could be on their mind: what the hell is this place?
“This is the place.” An Azurian man in Marine uniform said as he held up a device in his hand. “The magical detector’s signal is the strongest here. We’re definitely at the right place.”
“How old is this place?” Raleigh exchanged a look with the Empress. “If you pardon my bluntness.”
Ignoring the suddenness of the Captain’s question, she puts a hand up on her chin. “The texts and records collected from this place by the Taikō suggests that this place has been abandoned for more than several hundred years, though the records were also in poor conditions and a lot of them couldn’t be read as well.” She answered, recalling from memory.
Raleigh climbs up one of the fallen pieces of concrete, scanning the area with his binoculars. “Strange. The Kilos ain’t tailing us anymore.” He comments, looking back at the massive concrete door built into the mountain before pointing back at several lieutenants under his command. “Let’s check for entries. Tell the Hustlers to form a defensive perimeter, I want this place locked down.”
“You got it, sir.” One of the lieutenant turns away, barking orders for the tracked vehicles to begin dumping supplies before moving to a defensive position behind several concrete pads.
“No radiation.” Boris held up a Geiger counter, taken from one of the storage bins of the Hustler armored vehicle. The device remains ominously quiet, despite the clearly weird signs of poisoning around them.
“Anything else we’ve detected so far?” Raleigh asked him.
“Lewis checked everything as well.” Boris puts the device away. “We’re clear, Captain.” He answers, his attitude still barely improves from when they first landed on the island.
Raleigh felt a bit guilty. He used to have nightmares about that day. But as time went on, he had moved on from the incident, distancing himself away from what had happened. The medals and citation of valor he received were forced upon him by the upper brass, as the Marine Corps needed more officers to meet their expanding operational demands and to train more officers. He couldn’t blame them for making such a decision, the country needs capable officers that can make quick decisions in combat.
Having missed out on Tarya’s funeral, he couldn’t really face his mother directly out of shame. He had been secretly visiting Tarya’s grave whenever he had the chance, but Boris wouldn’t have believed any of this anyway. “That’s good news, Staff Sergeant. You may leave.”
— —
Boris paces around the massive concrete gate, accompanying him were his squad and a few other Marines tasked with looking for entry points into the structure.
“Nothin’ up here.” Joker said over the short range radio.
“None here also.” Richard chimes in the frequency.
“I don’t think there’s any viable way in, Staff Sergeant.” Lewis lets out a tired exhale. “We searched everywhere.”
“I’ll leave it to the Captain to handle this, you take a break.” He radioed in to report the situation.
The rest of the squad gathered up next to a rotten metallic corpse of something lying next to the concrete gate. Discussing ways to enter inside the structure.
Milton knocks against the wall, checking the sound to try and determine the thickness of the steel-like material. “Can’t blowtorch the metallic frame, we’d run out of juice before we even finished torching the gate halfway through.”
“Why don’t we just fuckin’ blow our way into the place, eh? We got more than fifty kilos of RDX explosive in the supply dump, haven’t got the chance to use ‘em. Let’s punch a fat, clean hole right through this motherfuckin’ gate.” Joker said, getting annoyed.
“We’re in the middle of enemy territory and you want to let every one of those slimey, disgusting, albino abominations know that we just blew up all the stuff meant for them?” Rita said, not comfortable with the idea.
“What? You’re afraid of getting bloody goo over your jacket or something? Besides, why are you so talkative on this mission, anyway? I thought you’re the quiet type while we were in Azuria. Did something happen after the battle in Luerico?”
Rita paused, thinking of something to say. “I don’t know… Maybe it’s because of you. I’m… uh, just pissed off a bit.” She answered, scratching her head. “I guess, you’re so stupid at times. Talking to you feels like talking to a caveman who has just discovered fire! I, Rita Laurencia, as this squad’s corpswoman, just had to watch your sorry ass so you won’t do something stupid.” She broke out a small chuckle at her own words.
Joker was taken back by Rita’s behaviour a bit, it’s the first time he had seen her smile like that. Rita is usually the quiet type ever since they finished bootcamp. “Fine… Whatever you think…”
– –
“So we have no way in?” Raleigh asked Boris standing on the opposite side of the makeshift table made from random rubbles.
“None.” He answered, his eyes rolling away from Raleigh slightly.
Whatever this place is, it’s clearly not built by the Harukamians, Raleigh thought. “The Empress said that this place has history that dates thousands of years back, so most of the records have been lost already. The only thing they know is that this place was built by an entity called the Ancient Khanterran Empire.”
“So, what do you reckon this place is? Hm?” Boris folded his arm, observing the gate.
The lack of respect from Boris really has begun to show, he didn't even address his Captain properly nor treat him like his superior, but Raleigh felt like he had no choice but to tolerate it. Afterall, he couldn’t blame the Staff Sergeant for hating him as much as he does. “Judging from the heavy fortification, distant location from the rest of civilization and nowhere else looking like this in the Shogunate… My best guess is that this place is a hidden storage site like a seed bank, weapon test site or a hidden research facility. Whatever it is, probably not something the Khanterran wants random people to discover.” He answered, pointing at the rotten metallic corpses of heavy equipment covered in foliage laying around the site.
“The guys can’t get into the place, they’re suggesting we blow it up.”
“Blow it up?” Raleigh asked him.
“They said we have the explosives and some tools to insert them into the gate, and blow a hole big enough for us to enter the structure.”
Raleigh pondered about the proposal. On the one hand, blowing the metallic gate would pose a significant risk to releasing whatever is sealed inside, consuming most of their explosives for other uses and leaving them with less firepower on hand for any surprises it might contain within. But on the other hand, President Irwin has given him and other leaders permission to use everything at hand to accomplish the objectives required, allowing for more leniency in how he uses the assets available at hand. The toxicity around this place, while clearly present, isn't detected by any instruments they brought with them.
Making up his mind, he began walking to the communication desk. “Have the men clear the trees and wrecks around this place to make a viable LZ for Narwhal quadrotors running resupply. I’ll place an order for more ammunition, diesel and a detachment of Orcas on patrol. After that, we blew the gate up. Is that clear, Boris?” Raleigh said.
“...”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then let's get this over with and go home.” Raleigh said, emphasising the last part before turning to the communication officer, giving him a tap on the shoulder. “Contact the boat.”
– –
45 minutes later.
12:10 AM
The UH-48 Rorqual quadrotors opened both of the ramps and began unloading supplies as well as additional ammunition for the company of Marine waiting. Many Harukamian stood in awe once again at the logistical capabilities offered by the massive flying craft before helping themselves to the crates containing MREs packs, making some quick lunches from the alien ingredients contained inside the plastic packs.
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“Fuckin’ hell.” Joker took a big bite from a reheated sandwich. “Thewse giuys ayte leik thwey hadve’nt gwettin’ food foer waeks.” He comments at the sight.
“They’re not used to seeing so much food, cut them some slacks.” Richard said, munching on some white bread with jams.
Lewis sat beside the two, continuing to type away on his portable computer unit as he wrote another letter for Alice. He had been sitting there for a while, probably typing some pretty romantic shit, Joker smiles as he continued to chew on the sandwich.
“How’s the explosives’ preparation going?” Boris asked the three.
Joker swallowed the sandwich in his mouth with an audible gulp. “Almost there, Staff Sergeant. Just a few finishing touches of wirings and we’re hot.”
“Alright then. Finish up your lunch.” He turns to the right, directing his attention to Lewis who is still preoccupied with typing. “Specialist, come with me.”
“Yes, sir?” Lewis looked back at his CO.
“I have something I want you to look over.” He gestured at one of the strange metallic corpses lying on a scrap pile stacked by several Hustlers tracked vehicles. Milton is spotted sitting on the thing to have his lunch, uncaring about what he’s sitting on as he helps himself to some reheated beef stew.
“Get your ass off the thing, Milt.” Lewis called for him. “I gotta do something.”
“Um, ok.” He said, jumping off the metallic corpse and grabbing his R-25MK marksman rifle.
The three observed the object with some curiosity. The thing was nothing like both they had ever seen. Although it was rotten and decayed, Lewis could make it out as a machine of some sort using biomimicry as foundation.
It is a large, spider-like machine with eight legs and a pair of strange constructs sat above. Its size was comparable to an Aries main battle tank, about eight meters long, five to eight meters wide if he counted its legs and three meters tall on its belly. The paint had been degraded by the environment over a long period of time but some slim patches remained, giving Lewis hints that this thing was painted black or dark grey when it was still function, or alive, who knows? This is another world after all, he couldn’t exactly tell if this thing was a living being at one point or just a machine. Either way, it doesn’t matter, he thought.
“What do you think it is, Lewis?” Boris puts his hands on the hip.
“Looks like one of those science-fiction robots or mechs in the weekly magazines.” He answered, still uncertain about its purpose. “This thing is too rotten for me to make out what it is.”
“Combat vehicle, maybe?” Milton chimed in, taking another scoop of stew as he observed the thing. “Like, uhh, a tank of sorts?” He gestured at the two constructs fixed atop the spider-like machine as a reference. “That looks like a gun, maybe a twin gun?” He moved his finger to the front where the mouth of a spider would be, where there were two thick wires or pipes connected to a pair of similar constructs albeit much smaller. “Those looked like MGs, probably functioning similarly as well, with ammo belts and shit to feed it.”
Milton’s analysis, although basic, did make a lot of sense to Boris. If this place is a secret facility of sorts like how Raleigh sees it, then security would obviously be present. “Yeah… Raleigh did assume that this place is a secret facility of sorts.”
Captain Raleigh’s name drop wasn’t surprising to anyone but Lewis, who stood up to ask his Staff Sergeant. “Have you forgiven him, sir? He told me what happened. If you pardon me, I don’t think it is necessary for you to keep hating him like this for this long.”
“Some things can’t be forgotten, Lewis. At least… not as easily.”
“I know, that you know, that HE knows that his action was wrong. But even I think it was justified, there was simply no way out in the way he puts it.”
“I cannot forgive him, Lewis. Even though he saved me and the others. One must’ve been a monster to throw a child in danger off a balcony like that.”
“I see…” Lewis’s mood turns sorrow. Unable to help resolve the split between his CO and the Captain, he finally resorts to something he wasn’t meant to say. “He told me not to ask you this on his behalf directly, but… what can he do to redeem himself to you? You two have known each other for a long, long time, as he puts it. If he wasn’t truly determined to fix the split between you and him, he wouldn’t have asked me to help him out on his behalf.
“...”
Boris’s quiet reaction was a surprising shift for Lewis. Having been dismissing his explanation all day, he now stood in silence in contemplation. Lewis let him think through it, hoping he would change his mind.
“I’ll rethink, Lewis. Maybe he has changed. Copy that?”
Lewis carefully hid a sigh of relief, giving his Staff Sergeant a salute before being interrupted by the sound of clanking.
“Yo, look at this!” Milton called for them, clearing away some vines stuck on the metallic spider-like machine. “I think I found a hatch!”
Lewis walked up to the red lever hidden behind some smaller vines placed on where a spider’s torso would be. Hovering his hand over it, he turns Milton. “Should I pull it?”
“It’s been dead for god knows how long anyway. Do it.” Milton said as he aimed his R-25MK at the lever, switching his safety off and putting on a gas mask just in case.
He turns to Boris, who gives a nod of approval and does the same as Milton. Lewis followed suit, putting on his own gas mask hanging on the hip just in case this thing spew out anything undesirable.
“Okay… Three, two, one.” He quickly pulled back on the lever, which ejected the metallic canopy of the machine, dust and pieces of dirt spewed violently outside the machine, causing Milton to back up slightly as he waved away some of the choking dust cloud.
Milton focused up as he pointed the rifle inside before widening his eyes at the sight inside the machine, giving off a small smile. “Holy shit…”
“Well, I’ll be damned.” Boris said as he observed the inside, putting away his R-25 rifle.
“What is it?!” Lewis stood up from the floor, excitedly climbing up the machine to see the inside.
Milton’s random guess work was correct. It was a vehicle, and there was a humanoid skeletal remains inside it, covered in broken equipment and ripped clothing. Even as a Specialist, all of the instruments inside the presumably control cockpit were completely alien to Lewis, his eyes twitching slightly as he tried to understand what anything inside the machine would do. The only thing he could identify was the throttle lever and control joystick found on aircrafts, as well as pedals which he assumed that it was meant to control its movement.
The presence of an advanced mechanical machine probably more than a thousand years old was an exciting discovery. But also a hint into what kind of threat this world potentially holds. If this thing is thousands of years old, then what kind of tech exists now? And how do the people here not know what this is? What happened to the people that created this? The three Marines discussed among themselves, finding the propulsion mechanism as well as the skeletal corpse on the octopedal vehicle intriguing. This sort of stuff only exists within Elysian science-fiction.
The problem remains, which was the skeletal remains. While humanoid in nature, it was clearly much larger compared to a human and more the size of some larger beastmen, around 2.4 meters tall. Metal frames and mechanical instruments were integrated into the skeletal structure, permanently attached to the bones through a series of bolts and screws. Whoever was piloting this thing clearly wasn’t normal, or at least, not in a traditional sense. Perhaps he or she was disabled? Couldn’t be. Pilots are meant to be top notch in terms of physical and mental strength in the United Federation, a civilization advanced enough to create octopedal walkers wouldn’t place a disabled person in a machine larger than an Aries tank.
Only one theory remained.
“I think the pilot of this thing has cybernetic enhancements.” Lewis said, picking up the metallic hand of the pilot to inspect it.
Milton broke out a chuckle, finding the idea laughable. “Don’t kid yourself, Lewie. Cybernetics aren’t possible. You Specialist nerds read too many comics.”
“Anyway, we might expect more encounters similar to this.” Boris states before hopping down from the walker, turning to the Specialist. “Lewis, document and give everything you can find to the guys on the Rorqual so they could bring them back to the boat. We’re not here for exploration, but to accomplish our mission. Leave the exploration part to the nerdy professors in Arlette. Let’s get that gate open.”
“...Yes, Staff Sergeant.” He puts the metal hand down.
– –
12:32 AM
The familiar sound of the Orcas attack helicopters’ blades chopping up the air above is as familiar as it is a sign of danger looming below for the Marines. Men ran about as they finished setting up the explosives, laying wires behind the vehicles and random junks used as cover for what’s about to come.
“All you wonderful jarheads, take cover behind something.” Raleigh announced over a speaker. “We’re about to blow this gate to kingdom come.”
The Marine engineer squad quickly ran back into a hastily dug ditch from the gate, giving their thumbs up to signal the Captain.
“You might want to cover your ears, Empress.” Raleigh turns to Senki and her escorts, who quickly heed his words.
Senki and Lord Daisuke knew the Elysian’s weapons were loud, but they didn't seem to be bothered as much by the explosives they threw at the Kibaōkami. However, the fact that the Captain is actually warning them this time meant that it would be extremely loud.
“We've cleared the site, Captain.” Boris announced calmly, looking at the Captain with a neutral expression.
Raleigh was taken back a bit, not knowing if what he’s hearing is true. Boris is actually speaking to him normally, without much if any condescending tone. Maybe he has changed his mind? He’d hoped so. “Got it, Staff Sergeant. Let’s go, tell them to hit it.”
“Yes, sir.” Boris put up a handheld radio up to his mouth. “You’re cleared to detonate.”
“Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole!” The Marine lieutenant yelled out, his voice rang clearly in the air before pulling the detonation cord.
BOOM.