A Blossoming of Deadly Flowers

“SHŌJO ATTENTION!”

Captain Kirari announced as she made her way through the barracks area as Aya and the rest of the soon-to-be gyokusai of the Special Unit: Sakura Kamikaze woke up, wither muttering nervously, or staying completely silent as they put on their tight short sleeve shirt, short skirt, thigh high stockings, feminine uniforms, though Captain Kirari had something with her in tow - she had an industrial cart full of neatly packed, pink, red, and white digital camouflage duffel bags - which unknown to Aya and the others, included the slightly different combat uniforms that they’d be wearing for what was set to be their first and final mission. These uniforms consisted of their berets, a tight fitting, very short, short-sleeved button up shirt with red, white, and pink digital camouflage simple shoulder epaulettes, a tight-fitting red, white, and pink digital camouflage v-neck t-short to wear under it - both both shirts being neatly tucked in with an identically camouflage patterned thin belt, along with skinny, pink and white digital camouflage plants, which were to be tucked deeply and securely into knee-high canvas and rubber shoes that were knockoff Converse in their design - due to leather being needed elsewhere for the war effort, as well as the DDA being able to cheaply and legally borrow the basic design of Converse, and thus having an easy and cost effective to mass produce combat shoe. As Captain Kirari then began to hand out the duffel bags with uniforms - each of the names of the numerous shōjo sewn via a name tape to the center of each duffel bag, Aya turned to Amelia, Alice, Erika, and Kiyoharu, looking at her friends with a nervous look - while also being amazed that she didn’t drop what she’d been given out of a sense of overwhelming nervousness. Yumeko was in a completely different barracks area within the complex, getting ready for the day as well, having been handed the same digital camouflaged duffel bag that contained the same uniform as the other shōjo - despite that they were on the opposite side of fate, for now.

“Well, this is it - I can’t believe that the day is actually here now, it’s really happening. I don’t know what to say…..”

Aya said as she took a breath, though she didn’t completely know how to feel, she didn’t really know how to take this situation in, knowing that that day was supposed to be her last. Alice even looked concerned, pulling out her new uniform and deciding to strip and change into it right there in the main walkway where the shōjo, which broke the sense of dread for a moment, with Aya, Amelia, Erika, and Kiyoharu giggling and smiling, before they collectively sighed, remembering that their first and final combat deployment was upon them. The barracks murals of Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto, Amaterasu, and Hachiman seemingly looking on as this group of shōjo and all of their fellow soon to be gyokusai unpacked their new uniforms and slowly got dressed after showering, or in the case of Alice - figured that if she was going to perish that day anyways, there was no point in trying to “delay the inevitable” as she saw it.

“There’s nothing really to say, mein liebe. All we can do is go forth into der schlacht and then embrace todt.”

Erika replied as she gently stroked Aya’s hair, smiling at her as best she could, prior to turning to go to her room and shower before she changed into her new uniform. Alice more or less stood there silently, looking down and around at all of the other shōjo, small talk and silence permeating the barracks area as if the Grim Reaper loomed in the air - which arguably, wasn’t exactly incorrect. Aya turned to Kiyoharu and Amelia then, looking at them with controlled longing as she took in how they were each feeling in that moment, and what they had to say, if anything. Aya felt slightly selfish for leaning on her friends to offer any sort of comfort - though Amelia and Kiyoharu more than seemed to understand Aya’s desires in that moment, and didn’t think that such desires were at alls selfish, but instead normal and human.

“Like - it’s a totally sticky situation - but not like we can do anything about this pinch that we’re in. But you’re like totally awesome, and I’m so glad that if I have to like - be vaporized by plasma after falling from orbit I’m just glad it’s with you, Kiyoharu, Alice, and Erika - and Yumeko was like, totally rad too.”

Amelia said as she then without hesitation - pulled Aya in for a hug as she smiled, weeping slightly as Alice and Kiyoharu then joined in, slowly, carefully, but creating a warm and meaningful group hug. Kiyoharu then pulled back and smiled at Aya, before turning her gaze towards Alice as well.

“Aya - you, Alice, Amelia, as well as Erika and Yumeko - even if they aren’t here at the moment, you’ve all become the friends that I thought I’d never have, like, the day that you all found out my secret. Thanks again for that, Amelia - as you made me go from worried to welcome in an instant in the showers, and from that moment - I felt accepted by all of you. I’ll make sure to let Erika know when she’s back too, as well as Yumeko if we get to see her.”

Kiyoharu said as they blushed quite hard, almost to the shade of red in the red, pink, and white digital camouflage that was on their new duffel bags. Aya then smiled at Alice, Kiyoharu, and Amelia.

“Well - I’m going to go shower before I get into my new uniform! Alice - maybe you’d like to join, as it can’t hurt! What about you, Kiyoharu and Amelia?”

Aya asked as Kiyoharu and Amelia then quickly nodded and followed Aya to the communal showers area, making sure to place their duffel bags and new uniforms in their rooms on the way to their destination. Even Alice, flashing her razor sharp teeth - quickly stripped herself of her new uniform publicly, before throwing it into her room and rejoining the group. There was a comber feeling in the air - as if each moment, these shōjo were trying to ignore or otherwise delay the fact that they really and truly were on the way to their deaths. Admittedly, their last showers felt nice - the hot water, the scent of fresh, fruity soap, and the feeling of closeness that these shōjo had developed in a short, but meaningful time.

On Mars, the mood was just as somber - yet few were trying to hide their worries - save for controlling their emotion through a state of stoic calmness. The reason was that intelligence sources within the ECAP stated that an attack was coming - but to the credit of the DDA, operational security (OPSEC) regarding Operation Divine Typhoon was as airtight as it could possibly be. In no one was this stoic calmness more clearly seen than in Anastasia, Mulan, and Seo-Yeon - the three heroines of the ECAP - as they sat in the ECAP Command Center - a metal and concrete dome structure like the many others on the surface of Mars, with the interior decorated in a decisively Russian, North Korean, and Communist Chinese style - brown leather chairs with brass studs, plenty of stained paulownia wood bookshelves with decorative volumes in Russian Korean, and Mandarin - all of which wrestle approved by the Combined Governments of the ECAP - as well as stained paulownia wood office furniture carved in a distinctly upper class design, which was far from what the vast majority of the popular of the ECAP would ever witness outside of seeing such rooms in state-approved broadcasts. Anastasia thus turned to her colleagues - all of them had survived multiple Special Unit: Sakura Kamikaze attacks, while also saving ECAP Civilians and Military Personnel caught in the seemingly ceaseless orbital plasma bombardments when they occurred. Though, they didn’t know that the very elongated, thin, triangular pink and white digital camouflaged bombardment capsules that fell from space and exploded in a massive, magenta colored pasta blast upon impact - contained shōjo just like themselves. Though, this ignorance on behalf of not only Anastasia, Mulan, and Seo-Yeon was due to both tight operational security on behalf of the DDA, as well as that the magenta plasma blasts would vaporize the bombardment capsule in its entirety - thus including the gyokusai inside.

“Have either of you gotten any special orders besides to monitor the hardening nano-shield skin technology covering the surface structures and to make sure that the civilians are evacuated to the shelters during the attack?”

Anastasia said, putting her long white hair into a neat, high ponytail, her eerily clam red eyes and her deadpan, but soft, effeminate voice carrying in the room as she sipped her premium quality Russian tea. She wasn’t overly petite in height, but not exactly tall either, with a characteristically slender frame and medium sized breasts that sat nicely, with a distinct symmetry to them. She wore her uniform - a light tan, tight fitting uniform which was of a stolen DDA design with just enough changes that the ECAP couldn’t technically suffer any fate other than economic sanctions. The only differences were that the undershirts were of a black and white striped pattern, their berets were black, and their knockoff knee-high Converse were black as well. A main difference in this regard was that the DDA, with a Democratic Socialist model of Capitalism, had better access to fabric dyes and superior materials, whilst the ECAP did not, with their combined economic base relying on a “planned” approach - which was another reason that unlike the quarters and common areas of Anastasia, Mulan, and Seo-Yeon, ordinary ECAP Citizens knew only concrete, plastic, and composite woods as their accommodations. These facts went through the minds of both Mulan and Seo-Yeon, as they looked around the room, pondering Anastasia’s question prior to answering, one at a time.

“No, I haven’t been given any special orders. All that we know is that there is some sort of attack coming - and unlike what the state-approved broadcasts say, the members of the Central Leadership Committee of the ECAP are quietly sweating, due to there being an internal rumor that the coming attack will be larger than any we’ve ever faced. Personally, I can only hope that the new hardening nano-shield skin technology known as Dragon Skin will hold and result in a waste of plasma munitions for the DDA, and a greater survival rate for us.”

Mulan said, wearing an identical uniform to Anastasia, as was Seo-Yeon, though Mulan had booed black hair with bright red ends, along with deep purple eyes to match her fair skin, alms as fair as Anastasia’s and equally as fair as Seo-Yeon’s. Mulan’s build included slightly smaller breasts than Anastasia’s, though she was slightly taller than Anastasia. She took a small sugar cookie from a porcelain tray between the three of them that rested in a low, Korean style, stained paulownia wood coffee table with gold accents and ivory inlay.

“We might as well call those ‘shelters’ either coffins or buffet lines - as you know they’ve never worked in the past. How many times will the state-media and the state-security areas of the collective ministries be able to either hide or suppress this fact in the aftermath of an attack? We can only hope that this Dragon Skin defensive technology will in fact succeed in keeping us safe.”

Seo-Yeon said at first with a but of venom - before quickly regaining her composure and munching on a sugar cookie, more so to calm herself and to keep her mouth occupied than to experience delicious flavors. She was the most petite of all of them, with near equally fair skin, and neck length hair that was back with rich blue and red highlights. Her deep blue eyes darted around, trying to consider the outcome of the coming attack. Anastasia then sipped her tea and took a sugar cookie for herself, nodding as she seemed to be trapped in a moment of careful thought.

“We have to accept that we won’t be able to match the military prowess in an offensive capability - yet - but we can more than attempt do so something equally as effective: defensive capability which will at best, wear them out in a continued stalemate. In the beginning of the Great Patriotic War- or as you both may know it, World War II, Comrade Stalin spoke to the Party in the tunnels of the Metro, when all seemed lost. By 1945, it was the Fascist Beast who was trapped in a bunker, with the Red Army triumphant. The tides will turn - fear not - because like the Partisans of that war, we have deployed irregulars of our own to the DDA’s main settlement on the moon as sleeper agents. When this DDA attack concludes - Central Leadership Committee of the ECAP has given us all permission, and I’m relaying this to you both now - to activate these sleeper cells to attack their vulnerable populace. Those in the DDA are coddled, spoiled, and arrogant - they shall crumble once we strike in this manner.”

Anastasia said as she bit into another sugar cookie and sipped her tea with menacing grace, while Mulan and Seo-Yeon looked at each other, and then at Anastasia with more ease in their gazes. The board was set - and what felt to each of them like a game of the most high stakes, destructive version of chess ever devised - would soon see it’s opening play be made by the DDA with pawns who were so much different from themselves in age, physique, or gender.

“Remember too, comrades - all of our nations have, our peoples, have endured a common history of suffering - whether at the hands of Bushi and Samurai in Korea during the Imjin War, and their successors in Manchuria and the rest of China during World War II as you know it, or against the Teutonic Order and their successors from the Thirteenth Century until 1945 for my people and my Motherland. Mars and the ‘Red Gobi Desert’ settlement are now all of our shared homeland - one that has seen the scourge of the attacks of the West and their Japanese ally, just as our old homelands on Earth had seen in the past, and survived each time. This is the other reason that we shall prevail in the end: the combined weakness of the common populace of the DDA, and our blood-driven will to always survive, to always outlast, and to always triumph in the end. Dismissed - make sure the citizens are at ease and know where the designated shelters are.”

Anastasia said, finishing her point as Mulan and Seo-Yeon both nodded. Anastasia always had a way of bringing their thematically and regionally common cultural histories into focus in the darkest and yet also most opportune of times. Moments later, the three went their separate ways in the “Red Gobi Desert” main complex, each on their way to a different sector to bolster the morale of the ECAP Citizenry with their heroic presences.

Meanwhile, the Central Leadership Committee of the ECAP - mostly made up of Russian, North Korean, and Chinese Army Officers who doubled as political leaders - and with that common branch being the largest, best funded, and most revered in the ECAP - mulled about in the main lounge, which was a few doors down from where Anastasia, Mulan, and Seo-Yeon had been. The room was identical, save for that it was filled with smoke from cigarettes that were relabelled, cheap knockoff copies of those brands found in the DDA. These men, grey and white haired, White, Central, and East Asian - namely in green dress uniforms with waist length jackets to save fabric for the ECAP’s war effort and an almost comical number of colorful decorations adorning their jackets, albeit all of them being displayed in a neat manner per the appropriate regulations - smoked and muttered amongst themselves in a manner that they’d let no one else see but those heroic three see.

“We don’t even know if Dragon Skin will work. Because of the continuous sanctions imposed by the DDA at the start of World War III - we’ve had to steal and copy in order to maintain the edge. How do we know that nano technology will defend against plasma?”

One Russian Army Officer said to his Chinese counterpart as the latter prepared another cigarette for himself, his hand slightly shaking as he opened his gold cigarette case with a red star made of rubies, whilst the Chinese Army Officer nodded and sighed.

“We don’t - all that we know is that the media has been instructed not to show anything counter to the ECAP main line of propaganda and ideology. Additionally, the citizenry well knows the consequences for dissidence. All that we can hope for is that we survive to drink, smoke, eat well - and perhaps then become oligarchs once we’ve finally lost this war.”

The Chinese Army Officer said as his Russian counterpart nodded and sighed once more, taking a long drag of his cigarette, then replying with complete honesty.

“When we were the age of those three - Anastasia, Muluan, and Seo-Yeon, we too thought that this war could be won. How little we knew - truly - how foolish we were. At least if we’re to be buried under concrete, cement, and presumably charred bits of nano technology - I’d like it to be quick.”

The Russian Army Officer said as the Chinese Army Officer nodded, preparing a new cigarette of his own, opening his own cigarette case which was of a tortoise shell, ivory, and jade make.

Back on the Moon, Aya, Kiyoharu, Alice, Amelia, and Erika made their way with the other shōjo waited in formation - two abreast in their barracks area, waiting for Captain Kirari, who was supposed to have lead them to where they were supposed to go about five minutes or so before then. The reason Captain Kirari was absent was that she was throwing up in a nearby restroom, her beret laying neatly on top of a tampon dispenser. It wasn’t that she had the flu or a similar illness - it was that she was wearing thin due to what she was once more, being asked to do in the name of the DDA: to send even more shōjo to their deaths for supposed “crimes” that she herself didn’t view as crimes because she too, had been a Jirai Kei shōjo who had had yuri relationships as well. The difference? Shed never ben caught, and even she couldn’t figure out why that was. All she knew was that she was here, and that she had a job to do, and succeeding in her part of Operation Divine Typhoon - which meant commanding Yumeko and Yumeko’s fellow technicians in the orbital bombardment launch process - would mean a promotion to Major and thus more money for sake and thus an increased timeframe of relief and release. Gathering herself, she made her way out to her unit, and as she did so - she received a notification on her hologram phone:

“ATTENTION: DDA Orbital Bombardment Vessel Showa will be delivering its payload last - behind DDA Orbital Bombardment Vessels Walküre and Columbia. Link up with the other Special Unit: Sakura Kamikaze units aboard the Showa. The total number of gyokusai for Operation Divine Typhoon is numbered at fifteen-hundred. BANZAI!”

Captain Kirari read the message, sighing. It being translated into Japanese meant that it had that specifically battle cry at the end - though it felt more to her like an insult at this point, maybe even a taunt from those who were far away from the actual combat itself - and the mass death which it always resulted in. As she made her way to her unit of shōjo who were soon to be gyokusai - she was met by Yumeko, also in her new uniform. Neither exchanged any communication besides the quick salute that Yumeko gave and Kirari returned, before they were back to the barracks area. Yumeko gave Kirari a nod of solemn comfort - and once more, Kirari once more had to embrace her rank of Captain.

“Today is the day - the day that you’ve all been destined for. There isn’t any point in trying to offer words of comfort at this point, so I’ll tell you what I can so that you’re at least all informed of how Operation Divine Typhoon will be carried out: we will make our way too, and board the DDA Orbital Bombardment Vessel, Showa. Out sister Orbital Bombardment Vessels, Walküre and Columbia will be preceding us in unleashing their payload on the “Red Gobi Desert” settlement on Mars, with us theoretically delivering the death blow. The total number of gyokusai including yourselves will be fifteen-hundred - so five hundred to a vessel. Perish with honor - like sakura blossoms falling with grace.”

Captain Kirari nodded solemnly as she and Yumeko turned around, ready to lead their unit to the DDA Orbital Bombardment Vessel, Showa - which would only require the same short walk through the terminal from which they walked through less than a month prior. Aya, Kiyoharu, Alice, Amelia, and Erika looked at each other as best they could in their two abreast ranks for marching in formation. As they did, whilst crowds of Deutsche, Yamato, and American DDA Citizenry flanked the terminal on either sides cheering them on with flags, Captain Kirari called a distinct cadence with her shōjo also singing in perfect tune - the grimly appropriate, Yuki no Shingun.