Clear, bright sunlight illuminated the earth, glinting off the Valkyrie's hull. The transport, its engine roaring with a deep, thrumming power, slowly took off. It climbed, hiding itself in the wind-blown white clouds, and set a course towards Hiroshima.
Five hours later, and far away, military vehicles roared past, kicking up dust. Investigation vehicles from the Tokyo Prefectural Police Special Investigation Department appeared in Shizuoka Prefecture, sirens silent but lights flashing.
The serious-looking investigators, clad in white forensic gear, were divided into two teams. One team, breathing hard in the thin air, was responsible for climbing the mountain to enter the ruined, bloody base. The other team went around the city below to take samples and interview potential witnesses.
Towards the afternoon, in a sterile Tokyo office, a special report landed on a polished desk. It detailed the catastrophic loss of personnel and equipment within the base, along with a simple, hasty sketch resembling the Valkyrie transport. The person in charge stared at it, his face grim. After hesitating for a moment, his jaw tight, he took out a specially modified, heavy-looking mobile phone. He selected the important information and took several pictures, the click of the digital shutter sounding loud in the quiet room.
Then, with a few taps, they were sent to several encrypted forces.
And S.P.E.A.R.
Above the Seto Inland Sea, the Valkyrie, its engine roaring, flew across the calm, sun-dappled water.
David listened to Yukio's precise guidance, flying the craft to a small, green island located on the outskirts of Hiroshima Bay. This was a secret stronghold of the Yashida family's resistance faction, hidden by cliffs and heavy foliage.
When the Valkyrie descended into a clearing in the mountains, its engines washing a hot wind over the trees, figures appeared. Ninjas wearing black, modern tactical clothing appeared one by one from the shadows, carrying firearms. They pointed their guns at the Valkyrie with great vigilance, their stances low and ready.
As the cabin door hissed open and the ramp lowered with a thud, the petite Yukio jumped out first.
She identified herself through a rapid series of crisp, practiced hand gestures and spoke a slogan in a sharp, clear voice. She called for the leader of the ninja team to appear.
Not long after, an angry old man, his face a web of wrinkles, appeared in front of Yukio. He opened his mouth and immediately accused her, his voice cracking with fury, of exposing the secret stronghold without authorization. Even if Yukio was the adopted daughter of the leader of the Yashida family, this was an unforgivable dereliction of duty.
However, before Yukio could argue or defend herself, a shadow fell over them. The three-meter-high Terminator armor, purity marks hanging from the edge of its shoulder armor, slowly walked out of the shadow of the cabin. Each heavy footstep was a solid clank on the ramp.
This time, both the angry old man and the ninja team, who had been eager to try, lost their courage to fight. Their weapons visibly lowered, and a cold silence fell over the clearing.
Ten minutes later, inside a brightly lit courtyard, the dancing flames licked the barbed wire of a barbecue grill. The air smelled of woodsmoke and cooking meat.
Nolan, sitting on a large boulder, was carefully grilling a thick, dark piece of Grox steak.
Not far away, Bucky, who had taken off his damaged carapace armor, was being persuaded by Yukio. He grinned, his teeth flashing, as he winced, cleaning his own unhealed wound with an antiseptic wipe and wrapping it tightly in a fresh white bandage.
At this moment, Nolan, who had just finished grilling a steak, did not choose to eat immediately. The meat sizzled as he casually put the cooked steak onto an empty metal plate.
He raised his hand and waved Yukio over, away from Bucky.
Then, he stared at her petite back as she approached. He said slowly, his voice a low rumble: "Yukio, right? To be honest, I'm a little disappointed in your so-called resistance."
The words had just fallen when Yukio, who had been tending to the steak, immediately turned and knelt before Nolan without hesitation. Her knees hit the dirt.
Her slightly trembling voice echoed in the empty courtyard. "Honorable Sir. The family's elite forces were wiped out by the Hydra due to the unexpected fall of Mariko-neesan. These people are the only remaining logistics personnel."
She kept her head bowed. "But please rest assured, as long as you give the order, they are willing to sacrifice their lives for the revival of the family."
"Tsk." Nolan made a quiet, sharp sound of contempt. "Facing Hydra's mini-tanks and energy guns, what role can a group of flesh-and-blood mortals play?"
Nolan remained expressionless. He picked up another raw steak and threw it back on the grill, where it hit the hot metal with a sharp sizzle.
"If it weren't for giving the remaining Hydra time to react and shrink their defenses, I wouldn't bother talking to you."
Yukio hurriedly raised her lowered head. A trace of anxiety appeared on her usually expressionless face.
Nolan stared at the Grox steak on the grill, the flames reflecting in his cyan eyes, and said calmly: "If everything goes well in the battle, I will look for Mariko. You can leave."
Hearing Nolan's reply, Yukio, who seemed to have let go of a heavy burden, visibly relaxed. She once again knelt and bowed low to the tall figure in front of him. Then she stood up quickly, brushed the dirt from her knees, and walked towards the outside of the courtyard.
At the same time, David's two-meter-tall metal body appeared at the stone doorway.
"Hello... hello."
Yukio stared at David with some fear, flinching slightly, and carefully made way for him, pressing herself against the wall.
"Ah, little human."
Blue light flashed in David's optics as he said hello to Yukio, his synthesized voice flat. He stepped into the courtyard. David walked next to Nolan, who was grilling steaks.
It raised its metal head and said: "My Lord, based on the signals exposed by Hydra personnel and the information provided by the Yashida family, Hydra forces throughout Japan are gathering. They are moving towards the base in Hiroshima."
Nolan grunted, not looking up.
"Moreover, the Hiroshima base is located under a castle tower built by the Yashida family in ancient times. It was their family's holy place in the past, but now it has become Hydra's."
David paused, his optics focusing on Nolan. "The most important thing is that Viper's movements have been locked by me. No matter whether she wants to abscond or seek support from other factions, she can't do it."
David reported everything to Nolan with mechanical precision.
Nolan listened carefully, and at the same time, he picked up the first steak and started eating, tearing at the meat.
"Then wait," Nolan said after swallowing. "Let's see what other tricks Hydra can play. David, remember to check the Valkyrie's weapon system. It may be used in the subsequent battle."
"As you command, my lord."
The expressionless Yukio walked through the dark and damp forest path, her feet moving silently and with ease. On the surrounding trees and deep in the grass, the dark figures of ninjas appeared quietly, watching her pass, and then disappeared just as quickly.
Soon after, she entered the interior of a dimly lit cave, the air cool and smelling of damp earth. Accompanied by the faint sound of flames burning, several ancient oil lamps made from whale blubber glowed, casting flickering, humble shadows on the surroundings.
An old man, the same one from the clearing, was kneeling on the ground. He slowly raised his wrinkled old face.
"Thank you for your hard work, Yukio." His voice was dry, like rustling leaves.
Hearing his greeting, the expressionless Yukio bowed slightly towards the old man. Her two palms were brought together and placed in front of her.
"Clan Elder, this is Yukio's duty for the family."
"Those... those foreigners. Where did you find them?" The old man blinked his cloudy, rheumy eyes.
After hesitating for a moment, he asked softly, his voice full of worry: "What price will the Yashida family have to pay?"
"Loyalty. Give the necessary loyalty."
"Clan Elder, my advice is not to be petty." Yukio's voice was low but firm. "Have you ever seen a powerful existence that slaughtered an entire Hydra base with just two people?"
"And a true artificial intelligence?"
At this moment, a hint of genuine fear seemed to flicker on Yukio's expressionless face.
"Especially the man wearing high-tech armor. Do you still remember my gift of precognition? I... I actually saw an unresolvable mountain of corpses and a sea of blood from his body. I'm afraid the number of lives that have died in his hands is difficult to count."
She paused, her hands tightening. "I think even the name Shura cannot sum up his existence."
Hearing Yukio's advice, unresolvable worry flashed across the clan elder's wrinkled old face. Finally, he sighed, a heavy, shuddering breath that deflated his small frame.
"Snakes are lurking inside, and dragons are crossing the river outside. The Yashida family is in a precarious state today."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~