Bloodstained Rose

Chapter 3

Premiere Anatoly’s office overlooked the entre radius of Kashmir. In every direction, buildings, roads, and aircraft filled the skyline. It was a Metropolis. Its sheer density was far beyond what the species had been able to craft in the past. The G.E.I. and its combined might of blood and metal had easily given it the power to reach new heights. The Premiere stared towards his desk and away from the skyline as he finished his breakfast. Despite having the technology to extend his lifespan, he still had to care for the human parts that remained. Each morning he sat to eat his processed foods while he swiped away at articles on his tablet.

In place of his eyes rest two metallic ocular devices, each to make up for his eyesight which had since vanished. The quality of the sight was far beyond what his human body would have allowed before, another blessing from the G.E.I.’s technological advancements. Across from his desk, the door to the elevator outside had started to open. Melora had emerged from the inside with the Weapons Chief, Koji.

The two had been dressed in black suits, both finely pressed and loose fitting over their frames. Koji’s white hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, revealing his broad forehead. He lifted his hand towards Melora, giving her the signal to continue with the morning brief.

“Good morning, sir!” Melora exclaimed with her charming smile. The makeup she had used that morning helped highlight the youthfulness that remained on her face. Her green hair had shined, complimenting her black two-piece suit. Just over her left breast pocket had rest an insignia, W.A., short for Weapons Administration.

“Good morning,” Premiere Anatoly quickly replied, moving the half empty bowl to the side. He readjusted his blouse, ensuring he maintained some sort of professionalism. “What brings you here?”

“The Nippon Offensive has been a clean sweep. Our troops have managed to establish spheres of influence in the area,” Melora said. She shifted the tablet in her hand, pressing her fingers against it. “I have some updates as well. We have finally deployed the Delta unit, and we have found our objective.”

“I’m not sure I was informed. I thought this was supposed to be an expedition for some resources. Why are there reports of losses?” He inquired.

Melora nervously shifted her glasses, trying to keep on track. Before being able to continue, Koji stepped forward.

“There had been some resistance, but despite the losses we have some fantastic news!” Koji interrupted her.

The Premiere shifted his attention to him, anger causing his eyebrows to curl against the devices.

He asked, “What is 'fantastic' about this? Has any of this news gotten out?”

“Not yet, sir,” Melora said quickly. “There were some losses, but we have just snuffed out a key figure of the Liberation movement.”

“The public is not very celebratory as far as the war is going. What kind of key figure would be in the middle of nowhere?”

“That figure was the legendary Hideo-Jin-Ni. We found an entire training camp. That includes his son and daughter,” Melora shifted her fingers across the tablet once more, continuing through her notes. The Premiere’s mood had instantly shifted. He leaned in towards her, giving her his full attention. “I know that there are a lot of citizens who were affected by this. Now his reign of terror has come to an end.”

She stepped closer towards his desk, turning her back towards him to take a seat on the edge.

She continued, “So, on top of us finding our objective—an area the locals call the Cosmos Cradle—you have a heck of victory speech. We have dealt a crushing blow to Liberation and the forces of the One World Order.”

“What is this Cradle?” The Premiere quickly cut her off, reaching towards her tablet.

“We don’t know exactly what it is or where it comes from, but it contains an impressive amount of energy,” Koji said. “Our research indicates that if we harness this power, we can get the needed resources to possibly colonize other planets!”

The Premiere nodded in approval at the prospect. The planet had already faced several Doomsday-type events in its history. After the great calamity that had befell the Earth in the past few millenniums, it had been clear that time was running out. The planet was not big enough to sustain the scale of the Empire they intended to build. Every attempt to get resources seemed to be swatted by the O.W.O. and their terrorist organizations sweeping the globe.

“Now sir, we should get working on that speech, wouldn’t you say so?” Melora asked him.

He had been distracted by her figure for a moment. The skirt around her waist hugged her thighs, continuing to cause him to lose focus. Trying to keep on topic, he turned his eyes from her and back towards the window.

“Yes, we should,” The Premiere said as he reached for his breakfast again. “Excellent work. I’m certain that we will find some extra funding for this.”

Melora smiled before lifting herself off his desk and sliding the bowl towards him.

“I promise that you will not be disappointed!”

Somewhere under the same sun, Mizumi had found herself staring off into another memory. She was still young. At the end of the runway, she had been finishing the preparations for Hideo’s ship. The resources had run dry. All they could get now were two aircraft. Even with what tools they had, they barely managed to get both operational. The crew had toiled at the ships for several days in the hopes to leave the Eurasian front and at last go their separate ways. Shift especially had spent the last day working to get one of the last vehicles fixed. He had been hoping to try and find a hiding spot with his two sons while Mizumi and the rest planned to go back west. He finally placed the last panel on the small vehicle, fastening down the screws while Hideo watched on with Mizumi close by.

It had been a somber time. The three had spent years fighting together in Kashmir trying to disrupt the G.E.I. offensive and turn the tides on the war. With the loses starting to pile up, the only sound strategy would be to lay low until they could recruit more for the battle. However, Shift had already started to feel his strength diminishing every passing day. At that time, Mizumi and Hideo had made it clear they would not be able to continue together. In Hideo’s arms, he continued to hold Rei—a much younger Rei, still a child and barely able to take her first steps. Mizumi stared over towards her, wanting to hold her one last time while she wrestled with the reality of not seeing her grow. She stayed silent, trying not to disrupt the two while anguish filled her heart.

“This thing should get you around seven thousand miles,” Shift said while finally getting the last screw tightened down. After putting the screwdriver into his pocket, he stood to give the small airship a pat with his hand. “It doesn’t look like it, but it should be safe enough to get you both wherever you’re going.”

“It’s around three and a half thousand miles from here, so maybe I can make it a round trip someday. I already ran once, who knows what will happen?” Hideo said softly, trying to crack a joke as he held Rei in his arm.

It was hardly the time for one. They all had a strong feeling this would be their last time seeing each other. Mizumi had still found herself at a loss for words realizing the last few years had seemed in vain. She had wanted to finish this battle before Rei could grow up, but now dreaded that the responsibility could fall onto her one day. Hideo looked over to her, trying to bring himself to say something. He had been wary of the day and knew this would come. The two stared at each other in silence.

“I’m,” Hideo muttered, fighting the urge to cry. “I’m not sure what to say. I don’t know what will happen.”

Mizumi felt a smile starting to form on her face. She stepped closer, placing her hand on Rei’s small head.

“I think ‘goodbye’ might work,” she said bluntly. Her eyes had started to water up as she stroked her daughter’s hair. “Just promise that she doesn’t grow up to deal with this. Let her be a woman, not a warrior.”

“I won’t.” Hideo had whispered, broken.

The two embraced one final time. As they began to part ways, Hideo stepped towards his ship with Rei. It resembled a helicopter, albeit much smaller. It would not take him long to strap the young Rei into her seat and to start the engine. He had practiced enough for this. After strapping Rei and himself in and locking the hatch, the turbines began to swirl rapidly. This was not the ideal goodbye he would have hoped for. Mizumi stood still at the craft had started its ascent. The wind had brushed her hair from her eyes, giving her a clear view as the two hovered out of her life.

That was eighteen years ago, she thought to herself as she found the present starting to come to focus. She had never seen them since. A decade prior, Shift had passed away from his illness. His age, unlike hers, had finally caught up to him. She was much older now, less nimble, but still as hard as ever. It was still early. She had not been able to sleep as soundly in recent days.

That memory of Hideo and Rei flying off in the distance had for some reason continued to play in her head. The Deep had seemed to emit a chill, making her feel as if something had been taken from her. Mizumi sat up on top of her mattress as the clock on top of her nightstand flashed “3:59”. At this hour, the fire watch would be ready to change shifts. It suddenly struck her; she had just a few minutes until the night would be reporting in. This morning was no different than the thousands that preceded it. Getting her hair into regulation was done subconsciously as she quickly and precisely made her way around the room. Within minutes, she had finally been ready.

Her Garrison Uniform had a long-sleeved green overcoat. The sleeves and breakpoint had golden buttons—each one with the imprint of an Eagle with its wing in full spread. In the grip of its claws rest two olive branches. Each with thirteen leaves, thirteen olives, and thirteen branches. Between it, rest a small artist depiction of the Earth with a crest containing the words “Unus Ordo Mundi.” Her trousers were as white as bone that had been bleached in the sun. Once she assured herself that her uniform was nothing short of immaculate, she made her way outside.

The Deck Hall was hardly a story tall. It had been quickly deployed, but that was the beauty of it. With this technology, they could practically set up a base anywhere on the planet. At any moment, the ship could easily switch into flight mode and act as a flying fortress. The massive aircraft served as the main base of operations for the Liberation troops. While in its grounded state, it had loomed over the rest of the camp with its metallic surface. Outside of the Deck Hall were six other aircraft—each with their own sets of turbines and cargo space to allow transport.

Liberation had been prepping to continue the operations. Now, they had been deployed in the Eastern mainland of Asiana—a land once known as China. In the horizon and on the outskirts of the encampment lay hundreds of old buildings from the past world. With the vegetation and lack of human presence, they practically resembled rectangular shaped hills. Vines and moss had grown over the surface for what many assumed could have been hundreds to thousands of years.

The ruins of the ancient city caught Mizumi’s attention again as she started her trek away towards the front of the Deck Hall. The dead city only brought her chills after thinking of the millions of people that vanished from it. She started to pull the cover from her head before entering the front door of the Deck Hall. Upon entering, she was greeted by the guards on shift.

“Attention on deck.” The first guard immediately called out.

The two others posted at the desk near the front snapped to their feet. Their heels slammed together, letting out a loud clap that echoed through the hallway. The Corporal of the Guard raised his arm parallel to the floor, flying a salute.

“Good morning, ma'am. There is nothing to report at this hour!” He exclaimed. Mizumi returned a salute, putting him at ease.

“Did you think just because we’ve been here for a few months you can’t give me your name? Who are you?” she asked him after approaching his desk.

“My apologies, my name,” he said before being cut short.

“I don’t care. Remember it next time you report, M.C.O. One-Nine-Seven dot golf,” Mizumi started to go through the motions again. Being in the fleet for so many years had made her go on autopilot in most encounters. At this point, she had rarely been greeted with a peculiar situation of her subordinates not being knowledgeable of the service. The young men before her were just like her at one point, still nervous and fearing correction—if she could even believe that she had changed that much. She started to find it even harder to accept so many years had passed. She calmly began to address them, “When you report your post, you report your name, information, which unit you report to, and any events outside of the norm. I paraphrased it a bit, good to go?”

“Yes ma’am.” the men had all replied at once.

Before she could make her way past the desk, another officer started to approach her. It was a slightly older man sporting a camouflage utility uniform—one very commonly used for the Liberation troops on the ground. Unlike Mizumi, his face had already shown signs of wrinkles beneath his grey moustache and flat-top haircut. Upon his collar had rested two golden oak leaf insignias, and further down on his blouse the name “Paxton” had been stitched over his breast pocket.

With his “southern accent”—as he would affectionally call it—he finally spoke, “Mornin’ ma’am. I don’t know if I’d say there’s nothin’ to report. The Premiere is givin’ an address.”

“I need all the details,” Mizumi replied firmly, trying her best to keep her bearing. Paxton’s accent had gotten under her skin for many years, but she had slowly started to warm up to it. After the many troops that had come and gone, she had learned that each had something about them that would cause her some strife. However, Paxton had proven reliable enough to excuse and one valuable enough she wanted to try and keep in his good graces. She stepped past him and asked, “What is the status for the next offensive?”

“Well, I think that’s where we have a dilemma if you’d put it,” Paxton replied as he joined her side. “They’ve been raising all kinds of hell in Asiana. He’s talkin’ about how they took out some freedom fighter hideout in Nippon.”

Mizumi had felt her heart skip a beat for the first time in years. She thought of the last time she had spoken to Hideo and had only wondered what he had done since he returned home with Rei. It was certainly possible that this camp might have been them. Like the many paranoid thoughts that passed through her head, she shrugged it off.

“They have to be losing support by now,” Mizumi said, keeping the thought of Hideo and Rei in the back of her mind. “I don’t know why they’re even going out that far.”

They both had started to walk inside the main office and towards the only television in the building. It had a compact frame and small screen displaying the Premiere in his office back in Kashmir. The address had been going on for a few minutes now.

“We don’t know, but me and the brass have been doin’ a lotta thinkin’ about it. They’re doing somethin’ they ain’t lettin’ on about.” Paxton added while making his way towards the monitor. He slowly turned the dial on the front of the device, causing the Premiere’s voice to travel across the room.

Premiere Anatoly had not spoken to the press in a few weeks. With his new optical enhancements, he was able to read off his speech freely. The words had scrolled through his eyes, preventing him from having to read a prompter from across the room. Being able to move his head and not stay fixated on the camera made him appear more confident to the audience.

“With the war reaching its peak, we have still managed to handle our losses. It does bring me great pain to inform you all,” He took a second to build up some moisture on his tongue, “we have lost over a dozen in a recent battle. However, the sacrifice of our sons and daughters was not in vain! Our years of struggle have finally brought us a victory we could have never hoped for!”

The Premiere paused for a moment, as if he was cued. Anybody watching the broadcast would have been greeted with images from Vic’s previous mission. The drone footage the Litvyak crew had gathered started to play to the world. What had been displayed was a grainy image of Hideo, Jin, and Rei staring obliviously towards the screen. The video paused before slowly starting to zoom in towards Hideo and the others.

“These are the faces of evil,” The Premiere said firmly. “Before you, are the infamous Hideo-Jin-Ni and his offspring. During our reconnaissance, we learned that the dreaded One World Order had been preparing another offensive. Hideo-Jin-Ni had planned to use a new army to try and turn the tide of this war, but we struck first. The losses were heavy, but the weight of their sacrifice has tipped the scales in our favor. Hideo-Jin-Ni is no more! Now, future generations will finally live in solace knowing that their loved ones have been avenged. However, this battle does not end until we ensure our sons and daughters can live in harmony with each other. For today, we embrace this great victory; tomorrow, we continue forward.”

“What a crock a shit! Do you believe this guy?” Paxton blurted out.

Mizumi turned to him and had painfully cracked out a smirk that had barely managed to reach the corners of her eyes. She shook her head to a mechanical rhythm while the sounds of the other troops echoed around her.

“They just massacred a village like it was some heroic feat.” Mizumi said to him.

She had tried to keep her emotions restrained, struggling to maintain control over the pain within. Hideo’s face on the screen and in his old age had been mesmerizing. With the news that he was now another victim of the G.E.I. offensive, she found herself trying to fight back the urge to break down in front of the troops. The image of Rei had not struck her or even caused a connection, but she knew now that she was among the victims.

“Say uh, was that Hideo-Jenny guy really one of us?” Paxton asked as one of his eyebrows perked up.

“Hideo,” Mizumi could feel a tear beginning to crawl out from her eye. She slowly began to retreat to her office, trying to keep composed. “He was.”

Paxton had been under her command for years and had not taken long to figure out she had been in some distress. He had carefully decided his next words.

“Ma’am, why not let me do the turnover today?” he asked.

Mizumi took a deep breath and tried to brush away a few tears that had started to roll down her face.

Still unable to face him, she sighed and replied, “I have this. In the meantime, get as much intel on the Nippon front as you can. I need you and your men to get down there and figure out what they’ve got planned.”

“We have three ships ready to rock, but I might need a couple dozen troops,” Paxton replied, trying to enunciate enough to remain intelligible to her. “We should be able to head out by tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll stay back with the auxiliary forces. Let me know once you get boots on the ground, and please be careful, Paxton.” She said finally, turning back to face him.

“Aye-aye, ma’am.” He replied, raising his arm to give her a salute. He did not have a cover on to properly salute her, but Mizumi let it slide. She had tried to force a smile out. Paxton left the hall, going to the barracks to do his preparations. Mizumi continued over to her office which had hardly been personalized. Aside from a few challenge coins from previous operations, the only thing she had that really defined her was an old, tattered book from decades past lying near the edge of the desk.

She sat behind her desk and pulled it towards her before feathering through the pages. Tucked inside was a picture of her and Hideo. It was the only photo of the two she had, and all that she had to remember him by. In the picture, she had pulled him in close, with her other arm trailing up towards the camera. She could barely remember taking it and could only guess that it had to have been before Rei was born.

It had been so long, she could barely remember what he looked like. She thought quickly of Rei. Seeing her face on the broadcast had been somewhat of a shock. It was not clear if it was propaganda or if they were gone, but nonetheless she had given in to the pressure. A few tears rolled down her cheeks. The only memory she had only grew foggier by the day. She knew that she could not change the outcome and had spent many nights loathing over her final goodbyes. Finally, she brushed the tears from her face, ensuring that she still looked presentable as the oncoming shift gathered at the door.

She let out a quick sniff and finally called out, “Report.”