Bloodstained Rose

Chapter 17

The G.E.I. reinforcements had just arrived on the second trip from the Litvyak. The situation had been chaotic with Yulia leading the assault. With Liberation taking over Nojiri, they had found themselves starting to be pushed up against a wall. All of their resources were stretched thin, and the retaliation would have to be efficient. Vic along with the other commanders had been alarmed by the surprise attack. After some careful consideration, the decision had been made to send Yulia and a small platoon to Nojiri for the next phase.

The outpost had housed two small gunships and the standard dropship. As the preparations were made, the latest unit had been powered on for the battle—Delta. The machine had a large spherical body, at least twenty feet in length. Its surface was black mass; faceless, no features to give it any humanoid appearance. Yulia approached the machine, ordering it to allow her on board. The top of the orb had slowly retracted into the body of the beast, creating a round opening. She had leapt on top of the machine in a single bound, cleanly entering the cockpit. As soon as she had taken a seat in the center, the hatch above clamped shut. Lights began to stream across the panel inside.

There was a faint hum droning from inside, slowly increasing in volume. Yulia closed her eyes. Inside, she could feel Delta starting to connect with her. The two beings had separated from their physical forms, finally becoming one as they established a data link. As they surrounded each other in the incomprehensible electric realm, the mechanisms inside of Delta began to react. The men outside of the machine watched, suddenly being taken off guard by a quick push. The gravity around the area started to feel disrupted, slowly pushing them back.

Inside of Delta lay he Gravitron Reactor. The weapon was able to manipulate the gravity around it, giving it the ability to act like massive press. Such technology was the G.E.I.’s only method to control the energy output from the Cosmo Cradle. While they had no idea of its origin—as with much of the population of the planet—they had intended to use it to give them the edge in the coming years. While Delta started to hover over the troops, he started to transmit a signal to the Litvyak.

“This is Yulia from Outpost Six, testing gravitational drives. Can you hear me?” she asked.

“We hear you,” a bright voice hummed back. “Melora will be very happy to know this worked.”

“Excellent, please inform her. We are going to be moving on the O.W.O. stronghold in one hour, fifty-eight minutes, and seventeen seconds.”

“The Litvyak will be on standby. We have lost all connections to Nojiri. You are advised to use any means necessary to neutralize the enemy. Please, be very careful.”

Yulia felt herself come back into her body the very millisecond the call had dropped. Delta’s Gravitron Engine swirled on, lifting her off from the seat, and finally suspending her in mid-air.

“Oh my, this will not do.” Yulia said aloud.

“I am still being perfected for human use.” Delta’s spoke with his low and digital sounding voice.

“I wouldn’t worry so much about that. However, I would like out now.”

“As you wish.” Delta responded as the top end of his body opened, pushing Yulia’s body up through the hull.

She had sailed through the top of the machine and away from Delta before landing on the ground. Upon contacting the ground, the gravity had started to normalize in the area, allowing the troops to walk upright. While they gathered around, Yulia started to lead them over to the dropship.

“Is this what we get to work with today, ma'am?” one troop had asked curiously.

“We’re going to be able to walk over that town. Everybody comes home today.” Yulia said before her face had shown its contorted, cat-like smile.

Within minutes, the men had boarded and started their approach. The dropship would be able to send several arches of machine-gun fire into the village with the two other gunships at the flank. With some luck, they should be able to clear the northern face on entry—allowing the infantry to hold down the ground resistance. If all went to plan, Delta would be able to sweep in with the Gravitron Reactor and finally demolish the town.

The three ships moved in unison, skimming over the treetops and through the valley with precision. The lush canopy below swayed as the engines of the ships pushed them ahead. Delta started to follow closely behind, causing the forest below to thrash as the gravity intensified. Yulia watched on from inside the dropship, her face still frozen as her green eyes started to illuminate the cockpit. Tension filled the air, keeping the troops on guard while they awaited the final push.

It was an hour before noon, the sun climbed even closer to the center of the sky with each passing minute. The town looked less radiant today while Minoru and the others started to ride in. While they drew closer, Minoru pulled back on the reins to bring the horses to a stop. Once the carriage came to a stop, Rei leaned onto the edge of the wood and pushed herself over.

“Is this the place?” She asked.

“It’s a lot quieter than it was yesterday. It’s as if nothing happened.” Minoru replied as he held the horses in place.

“I’m feeling a little exposed to be honest.” Tetsu said, poking his head from out of the carriage.

“This was your big plan,” Minoru said to him. He lowered the reins into his lap and scanned the road ahead. “Well, we’re this far. What do we do next?”

“I think we both still need to go in,” Rei said to Minoru, raising her hand to get his attention. “I’ll be able to hopefully get in as an outsider.”

“You don’t look too out of the ordinary. It might get ugly if they catch us with Tetsu.”

“Tetsu?” Rei paused for a second. She looked towards the trunk to see Tetsu peeking out from under the covers. “Right, I’m not the best with names. Are you ready?”

“Yeah,” Tetsu said as he stood up in the carriage. He stepped up and over, reaching out for Rei to help him down. “Last time I was here, they were shooting at me.”

Rei helped give him some support, still trying to be mindful of the gash in his shoulder. Tetsu caught himself, slowly pressing against her as he tried to get his balance. Just as his feet had struck the ground below, a large cloud of dust had enveloped Rei. She let out a sigh as the dirt caked up on her cloak, shrugging it off.

“Don’t worry about it,” Rei said to him. The cloak and robe were desperate to be washed. She hoped that after this, she would get some time to completely recover. The town was just a little under a mile away and certain to be filled with enemy troops. Tetsu reached back into the carriage, retrieving the rifle from beneath the large rug draped over. He held it close and scanned the area ahead to see it was unnaturally vacant.

“I’m still nervous about this.” Tetsu called out to them as his gut wrenched.

“Hopefully, we shouldn’t need you. Just try to sneak in and be an extra pair of eyes in case something happens,” Rei said back while stepped up and aboard the carriage. “If you can’t help me, you need to give me that weapon.”

“No, I got it. I think I know how to use this thing.”

“Then don’t leave it hanging out and try to conceal it.” Rei said before signaling Minoru to continue.

The two horses gave the carriage a pull down the dirt path toward the town. Tetsu’s cloak had stood out, but he did not want to risk being detected and jeopardizing the entire operation. He had snuck in and out more times than he could remember. The fields on the southeastern side would give him enough cover to get closer as he moved in. All the extra layers gave him protection from the outside elements as the cold winds pressed against him.

He continued his stealthy rush into the town; still able to avoid detection. From his location, he could detect a lot of foot traffic starting to form on the streets. He was oblivious to the ceremony that would be taking place in the next hour and more confused to see the streets carrying on like normal. It had been as if the previous battle nor the occupation happened. The transfer of power would be under way as soon as Nojuro had the opportunity to address the town. Tetsu still had to be wary of encountering any townsfolk.

He remained cautious going up and towards the Temple. The scene had been jarring. The front gate of the temple had remained guarded, however there were several Liberation troops in place. The usual guards his father had summoned were nowhere to be seen, only causing him more concern. With the extra eyes keeping the perimeter secure, he was certain making an entrance would be even more challenging.

Nothing I can’t handle, Tetsu thought quickly and tried to make his way inside.

The inside of the Temple had been outfitted as the new Liberation HQ. Dozens of townsfolk gathered, armed, and overjoyed to finally dwell the inside of this building. All around the first floor, there had been trash scattered from rations and comms equipment. Junichi operated the radio today. He had already received suitable enough training to learn the equipment well enough to deploy one. Out of the corner of his eye, he had gotten to look at the trash lying about and tried to hold his disgust. His family had given up on trying to butt heads with the new occupiers, and instead let them do what they pleased to the Temple.

While they had continued their shift, Paxton started to make his rounds. He stepped into the front door, causing the men to snap to attention in his presence. The chaos screeched to a halt, only prompting Paxton to order them to carry on. He made his way over to Junichi, dressed in a clean pair of utilities. The digital pattern across the uniform had been slightly faded, a sign of the years of service.

“Do we have any signal from the Mobile Carrier yet?” Paxton asked.

“I sent a few hails already, but no response. Should we have gone there?” Junichi returned, trying to turn his focus from the clutter.

“Naw, we don’t need to expose ourselves like that,” he replied, taking a moment to observe the surroundings. “We got eyes on the town from here, guys scattered across, and the moment we get control of that carrier, we can start to move north.”

“My apologies, I am not a battle advisor.”

“Don’t sweat it, when you when the election you have plenty of time to learn from me.”

“Do you think I’ll win that easy?”

“I’d put money on it,” Paxton said before looking across the yard. From the corner of his eye, he had noticed Tetsu in his brown cloak across the yard. He tried not to look alarmed as he cautiously raised his hand to his earpiece. After pressing against it, he quickly said, “We have somebody scaling the fence outside, get some eyes around back.”

The sudden command caused Junichi and the other troops to perk up. Paxton stepped further back into the Temple and towards the shrine in the back, heading towards another exit.

Tetsu had not been sure of how he was going to climb over the fence. He was willing to admit to himself that this entire operation wasn’t the most well planned, much like several other failed missions in the past under the same conditions. If he managed to get in, it was likely that he would be forced to fight. Liberation had a strong grip at this point, so he started to plan his next move. As he stood, an order to stop had barked out behind him, putting him on guard. Further down the fence, two troops had sighted in on him with their rifles.

“Give it up, you ain’t outrunnin’ a bullet,” Paxton shouted from behind the fence. Tetsu turned to face him as he started to scale the barrier. The field had still been in the open, but Paxton’s previous warning on top of his wounds forced him to comply. As Paxton approached, he gave another command. “Hands up, nice and slow.”

Tetsu immediately gave in, carefully raising his hands above his hand before stopping his left short. The pain in his shoulder started to nag once more, causing him to hiss.

“I’m hurt, I can’t get this one off the ground.” Tetsu shouted to him.

The pulse rifle stowed away had been too much for his cloak’s stitching. As it pressed against the large pouch inside, the stitching started to give way. With a loud rip, the weapon came crashing to the ground. Paxton and the two had become alarmed but he raised his arms to them to try and prevent a shootout. Before approaching, he reached towards his waist band to retrieve his side arm.

“Hold your fire, just a missing gun,” Paxton shouted at the troops while he stepped towards Tetsu. His sidearm, a bulky but silver coated revolver, had stayed fixed on Tetsu’s chest; not a thing could have worked to escape now. “Turn around and get steppin’.”

“I didn’t do anything, I swear.”

“You tried to warn ‘em and we caught ya’ in the blazin’ offense,” Paxton stepped closer to Tetsu, giving him a push before shouting again, “I said get steppin’.”

The two additional troops followed close, fingers itching for a chance to grace the trigger. Tetsu tried to keep up with Paxton while they started to make their way around the front of the Temple.

“The crew at the Mobile Carrier, are they ok?” Tetsu asked.

“Yeah, but I can’t say the same for the rest of ‘em. Ain’t that right, fellas?” Paxton asked the two men in front.

“Damn right, sir.” One quickly replied.

“What are you going to do to the village?” Tetsu asked.

“We’re just gonna free it. Speaking of, we should probably be heading to our little rally about now.” Paxton replied as he led them over towards the UAZ parked out front.

Tetsu stared at the damaged exterior, alarmed once he realized it had been the same vehicle Nomad used prior. A few thoughts had buzzed around in his head. He did not take the word of Paxton or anybody in Liberation and started to wonder about the safety of Nomad and the rest.

“I’m not going to be your prisoner,” Tetsu declared, remembering his position. He stopped in front of the men, standing tall to confront them. “I one of the nobles of this town, and I demand you take me to my family.”

“Alright then,” Paxton said as he stepped past him and over towards the back door of the vehicle. He gave the handle a pull, causing the mechanisms inside to creak as the door opened. “Hop in.”

Just as Tetsu started to step over, one of the men had quickly grabbed a hold of his collar through the cloak, giving him a shove. The momentum knocked him off balance, causing him to slam into the seat. After his face smacked against the cushions, he quickly pulled his legs inside before the door slammed shut behind him.

“Alright there, you ladies watch the radio.” Paxton said to them as he pulled open the driver’s side door.

As soon as he got seated, Tetsu pushed himself up and tried to lounge back. Ahead of the front seat, the windshield had been completely removed. Shards of broken glass protruded from the rim, simplifying his concerns for the others. He turned ahead to the passenger seat and became alarmed as Junichi took a seat.

“Is this the new normal?” Tetsu asked him.

“Shut up.” Junichi defiantly snapped back.

“Whoa now, let’s have a nice ride,” Paxton said to them. The engine rumbled as soon as he pressed the ignition. “I know we didn’t really get time to check you, but if you have any weapons, you’d best keep them sheathed if you know what’s good for ya.”

“You took my only weapon.”

“Good deal,” Paxton’s voice was ecstatic with the delivery. Before continuing, he pressed his foot into the pedal to move the vehicle ahead. “Like I’ve said a million times before, I ain’t here to hurt anybody, and I’m sorry about my guy who hit you. No hard feelings?”

Tetsu sat motionless, refusing to reply.

“I’ll take that as a 'yes',” Paxton started back up. “Now what’s gonna happen is we’re going to address the village and let ‘em know that everything is on the up and up.”

Rei’s first impression of the town had been of culture shock. A settlement of this magnitude was decades away from anything her village would have ever produced. Far above the shock of seeing the Nojuro Temple in all its glory was seeing the people gathered around it. Through their stares, she could sense something was off. The fear of starvation continued to settle in with the townsfolk and they watched the carriage pull through. Minoru guided it deeper into the town and towards the square just adjacent to the market. He had wanted to try and get as close as possible to the gathering taking place nearby.

“I didn't think with the current situation they’d be doing a festival or anything like this.” Minoru finally broke the silence.

“Do you think we’re in danger already?” Rei quickly returned.

“What does your little spirit, demon, or whatever presence say to do?”

“This thing,” Rei asked, pinching her robe through her cloak. “I don’t think it works like that, at least from what I’ve seen so far.”

“Then I guess we’re getting some information.” Minoru said as he steered the horses over towards a post nearby.

Being unnaturally vacant under the current famine had been convenient for getting them fastened down. After finally securing their carriage, the two made their way around the edge of the crowd. Still feeling exposed, Rei pulled her hood even further over her head.

“I think you should just let your hair fly. You are not very incognito,” Minoru said, watching Rei nervously try to hide her face. Rei turned her head to him and pulled the covering back down, finally exposing her orange, and wiry hair to the world. “Much better.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Oh please, spare me,” Minoru laughed back, waving his hand past her face. “I would just leave the talking to me for now.”