NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18: Pacific Front - 18
Pacific Front General's POV
0800 Hours
"We still don't have contact with our base at Pearl Harbor," one of the comm officers reported with urgency.
"Still?" I asked seriously.
"Yes, sir," he replied with equal seriousness.
All communications from Pearl Harbor had been down since yesterday at 1000 hours (10 AM). I immediately ordered the nearest fleet to investigate. It could either be the Americans discovering our occupation of the territory or the Chinese using EMP technology to disable communications. Protocol dictates that if an attack occurs, at least three destroyers should be dispatched to reestablish contact with the Pacific Front. If the Americans are responsible, we need to tread carefully. If it's the Soviets, we can freely coordinate with our Allied nations.
Nothing not a single ship report in, something worse happen.
"What's the ETA for the closest fleet?" I asked the comm officer.
"Approximately one hour until the lead ship enters visual range, General," the comm officer replied.
"Keep me updated," I said, hiding my growing concern. Losing the entire island is bad enough, but losing the Mercury satellite uplink could be catastrophic—especially if the island has already been occupied by enemy forces.
Aqua's POV
I'm seriously not a morning person. Yawn. That was, what, my third or fourth yawn now? Riding my submarine rigging to Pearl Harbor wasn't helping. And now that I think about it, I really want this island.
To be fair, living underneath the waves in the deep abyss is cool. There's no light down there, so I've already started planning something like Hogwarts' sky chamber for the entire underground base. That's a project for later, though. I tasked Melody with designing the ceiling renovation since she's been playing with her designer app all day anyway.
I'm also planning to dig a massive tunnel network underneath the island—a full 10 square kilometers. Everyone will assume that's the main base, but nope. It's just a second base.
As Gawr rides her submarine rigging beside me, we approach the island's fog-covered zone.
I see the fog spires surrounded by missile turrets and sensor towers. Basic setup. At least for me, where I usually spam static defenses.
As I surface near the harbor dock, a thought hits me—I don't have a military uniform. I sigh. Hoodie, pants, and stockings it is. Probably what Hestia's crew would wear anyway.
I step onto the dock and notice there's no one here. Probably because all the ships have already been recycled.
I dismiss my submarine rigging as Amy and Helena emerge first, followed by the rest of my crew. Gawr steps up from the water, does the same, and her crew appears behind her.
"You can go hunt some more fish," I tell Gawr. "You know the meeting's going to be mediocre. Unless they sent Norio, but I doubt they'd send their commando without scouting first." She nods to me then to her crew, and she dives back into the water alone.
I pull up a 3D hologram map of the island and start walking toward the Allied MCV location. Hestia said that's where the Allied commander should be, so I'm heading there.
As I continue down the fog-filled road, I pass a group of soldiers trying to calm the civilians. Obviously, they don't have weapons, but I guess their job is to reassure people. Then again, I can't blame the civilians for freaking out. A group of girls with no military uniforms walking around? Yeah, that probably looks suspicious.
I glance back at Amy and Helena—nope, still in hoodies. Then there's Triple, casually carrying her dual laser Uzis. Okay, now I understand why people are scared.
When I finally arrive at the Allied base, it's clear that some of the buildings are still damaged. Parts of the walls haven't been rebuilt yet, but at least the floors are clear of debris. Oh, and Hestia's here—nice.
"Hello, Hestia," I greet her as I approach. She smiles back.
"Commander," she replies, leading me into the Allied MCV.
A notification pings on my map—seven ships incoming.
I don't want to destroy them since I'm pretty sure they're Pacific Front ships. Maybe disabling them temporarily would work. I quickly open my designer app.
First, I design a missile. We already have missile turrets surrounding the island, so modifying them won't be hard. I can't technically do EMPs, but I have the next best thing—nanoswarms.
I base the design on the fog spires but make it concentrated. Instead of corrosive warheads, these nanoswarms will disable any vehicles they hit, rendering them non-operational for a set duration.
I finalize the design, name it the Neutralizer Missile, and set the turrets to fire before the ships enter the fog's range.
When I enter the MCV and see the Allied commander, his eye twitches.
"What?" I ask, dismissing my designer app and looking at him directly.
"N... nothing," he stammers, looking uncomfortable.
"Anyway, we're starting the meeting with your superior—in this case, your Pacific Front general," I say. I link my nanoswarm network to the Allied MCV control system and open a communication channel.
The usual connection line activates.
"This is Pacific Fleet—Pearl Harbor base, respond!" someone shouts on the other end.
I glance at the 3D hologram map. The ships are now in range of the missile turrets. Looks like it's time.
"Your Pearl Harbor base is under our control. Either connect me to your leader, or I'll do it myself," I state, trying to sound authoritative. My communication skills are nearly zero, though, so I'm not sure if it works.
"Who the hell are you?!" another voice—probably a ship captain—demands.
"As I said, your Pearl Harbor base is under our control. And your fleet will be too if you don't connect me to your general," I reply, ordering the missile turrets to fire Neutralizer Missiles at the seven ships.
The fleet is sizable—an Enterprise-class aircraft carrier, two Trident battleships, two Aegis cruisers, and two Horizon destroyers. Now that I think about it, I could probably reverse-engineer the Enterprise. Add my own designs, and she should still be fine, right?
"Your threats mean nothing!" the captain yells. I just shake my head. Either he doesn't see the fog or doesn't know what it does. I switch the call to speaker mode.
In 3... 2... 1. All seven ships are hit.
"Your ships are now stuck until this 'talk' with your general is finished," I say. The Allied commander facepalms.
"Since you're not going to cooperate, I'll go ahead and directly connect to the Pacific Front base," I say and do just that, tracing the communication channels from the fleet back to what I assume is their main base. Probably in Japan... or maybe Australia? It isn't the closest Pacific Front territory, but those seem the most likely.
I also realize I don't have a real name for my faction. Sure, I call it 'Wargirl,' but it doesn't sound threatening. I mean, there are names like Abyssal, Siren, and Fleet of Fog. I could go with something generic, like Azur Lane, too...
I decide to go with Abyssal. It technically fits me the most.
"Identify yourself!" the comm officer at the main base replies. Ah, so they already know someone's tapping directly into their line.
"All your bases on this island are under our control. Your commander is still alive, and your fleet is stuck near the island. Can I have a line to your general, please?" I say as matter of fact. It's all technically true.
"This is General Crimson Ironwood of the Pacific Front. May I know what your deal is with that island of ours?" the comm replies. Crimson Ironwood? I have no idea who that is. In the game, I only remember the names of commandos, not random generals—especially someone who don't have name in the lore.
"Island of yours? Wasn't it originally part of the U.S. before you took it over—before we took it from you?" I reply, hearing no response.
"Fine then, I want total control of this island, off the records. All your men are free to leave, and your fleet too," I say again.
"Why would you trust us to keep Pearl Harbor a secret?" the general asks, sounding surprisingly serious. I'm not even sure how to negotiate, but it feels like it's time to offer something in return.
"Of course, your base study Mercury Satellite uplink technology—and Stormchild, which belong to USA so I want to make a deal." I threaten them as I hear another communication attempt from their fleet. No doubt it's from the same base.
"Well, you could try asking your fleet for a quick UAV scan, but they can't, can they?" I add.
"Who are you?" the general asks, likely trying to buy time. I decide to humor him.
"I'm Aqua of the Abyssal faction. We're not associated with the Soviets or any nations you know of," I say as I hack into their systems and cut off all attempts to contact anyone outside their base. I have a feeling the general is about to do something foolish, like contacting the European Alliance.
"Let's end this game and come to a deal, shall we?" I suggest.
"Fine... we agree to your terms," the general answers back. That was too easy. Why do I feel like their won't keep quiet. Anyway, I'll give them something to keep them quiet for at least five years.
"You didn't even hear how I'll keep your guys—and your friends in the European Alliance—quiet," I say, shaking my head. I know I don't sound like a proper military negotiator, but I need these guys to stay functional. If they collapse too quickly, the future timeline will spiral out of control. The Omega Device's timing could be off by years if these guys fall sooner than expected.
There's also the matter of the time machine being built in the European Alliance right now. That's a disaster waiting to happen. I'll need to plan a stealth mission to disrupt it—or maybe steal the tech for myself.
"So I propose another deal—a tech deal, to be exact," I say. This gets a response, at least.
"Tell me the details" the general says, though I notice he's already ordered his soldiers to switch back to analog control systems of his base. Smart move. As I don't have nanoswarms on-site.
"Blueprints for the Mercury Satellite, instructions on how to build and control it, and the full Stormchild blueprint," I offer. That should be enough to keep them focused. They'll definitely want to expand their satellite network.
"I'll even let you launch satellites from the facility I'll build on this island—in exchange for five years of silence and your cryo tech," I add.
"What happens in five years?" he asks, finally cutting to the chase. Fair enough. Not even know how he know why 5 years is important but I gonna tell anyway.
"Soviet invasion of America and Full-scale WW3 starts," I say.
"How can you be sure?" he asks seriously.
"You've already seen the signs. Send some special forces to recon Sakhalin Island, just to be sure," I suggest. "You'll probably find some interesting equipment, too."
"Fine. Can this deal be shared with the European Alliance?" he asks, his tone sharp.
"If you give me good enough tech," I say. Then, their feed suddenly cuts out. Looks like they've fully switched to analog systems.
"We'll give you the Hunter-Seeker project," he finally says after a pause.
"Very well," I reply as the files start transferring over 'Hunter-Seeker' project is a cheap kamikaze drones and I got some idea I can do with it. I send the Mercury Satellite blueprints and Stormchild blueprint in return and turn to the Allied commander still in the room. I nod at him.
"You're free to talk to your high command. I've also restored your ships' systems. If your soldiers want out, now's the time. Hopefully, you—or someone else—will handle the cooperation effort for later" I say before walking out of the MCV with my crew following closely.
That whole conversation drained me. As we leave, I look over at Hestia.
"Can you lead us to the residential buildings?" I ask.
"Yes, Commander," she replies. We're still within earshot of the Allied soldiers, so I keep things formal. I pull up my design app to de-stress as we walk.
Pacific Front general POV
1100 Hours
"Sir! We triple-checked. All base operations have been switched back to analog systems," one of the officers reports as I sit in my command chair, rubbing my forehead.
"Commander, can you tell me how many attacked the base?" I ask the Allied commander still at the scene. The communication line, at least, is still secure.
"Yes, General. In the main city area and the Mercury Satellite uplink site, there were only eight of them," he replies.
"Eight?" I repeat in disbelief.
"Yes, General. Eight—all female. They're capable of controlling some kind of black swarms that devour guns, vehicles, and ships. Our main battleship cannons couldn't damage them. Their weapons fire some kind of lasers that melt our turrets in one shot, and they have missiles that can destroy ships with a single impact," the commander explains.
The more I hear, the worse my headache gets.
"I want a full report of events," I say. This is going to be a long debriefing. And why do I get the feeling that their leader isn't even military—at least not from the way she talked?