War is brewing

It wasn’t long before Peace Day rolled around, and our one opportunity to level the playing field reared its head. When we woke up that morning, we all felt it in our hearts: there would be no second chances. It had to be today.

“The parade ends too early for us to rely on the cover of night. Ryou, we’re gonna need you to enter first since you can stay undetected easier. You know your route?”

“I’ve gone over the layout a dozen times. For myself, getting in and around will hardly be an issue. You, however, will have far more issues.”

“That’s why I’m gonna need you feeding me information over the earpiece. One witness and we’re dead.”

“I am well aware, dear girl. You can place your trust in me to get you in alive.”

Honestly, I can hardly say I was a fan of putting so much of the responsibility on Ryou. I wasn’t exactly used to relying on others in active combat, what with my only ally being the non-combatant Time until recently.

Not to mention, the last time I put my trust in another magical girl, I lost my eye.

But unfortunately, I had no other choice. There was no way I could get in and around one of the most heavily fortified places in the world without her help.

“Our first priority is locating and capturing the colonel in charge of the forces left behind at the headquarters,” I continued. “We don’t know what exactly we need from him to access the databank, so we can’t kill him. That means we’re gonna have to isolate him so his men can’t squawk.”

“Would the safest way to do so not be to quietly kill anyone who poses a threat?” said Ryou.

“Sorry, but I’d rather avoid a massacre if possible. If dozens of military personnel turn up dead, they’ll be mobilising for revenge within the day. Besides, after… that… I’d rather avoid killing too many cybercops. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth.” I shivered a little, remembering the brutality of W’s cybercop extermination. Never thought I’d feel so bad for the bastards.

“If you so insist, I suppose we can aim for non-lethal methods where possible. Though that hardly makes our job any easier.”

“I know. Still, I’d rather have a harder time now and eliminate the risk of being hunted like animals by the entire JSDF.”

“I will have to agree with Ms Toki here,” said Higgs. “Aggravating zaibatsus and PMCs is one thing, but if even the military comes for you both, there will be nowhere left to hide. A massacre here would undo all of our efforts to alleviate risk.”

“Plus direct combat puts you in more danger. You should really try and keep the fighting to a minimum,” added Time.

It was a tough spot to be in. Even with the parade happening, there’d likely be a number of lookouts and patrols around at all times. Not being able to kill them added another layer of difficulty, but if we did resort to killing and someone identified us, the JSDF would hunt us to the ends of the Earth.

Either wipe out every witness, or do this as quietly as possible. There was hardly a good option there.

“Very well. We’ll avoid direct combat unless absolutely necessary. Though, once we’re inside the complex, that will likely prove incredibly difficult,” said Ryou.

That was the real crux of the issue. We had mapped out the entire outside of the compound, and we were pretty confident that getting in was manageable, even if the addition of taking a high-value hostage did complicate things a bit.

The inside, though? We were firing blind. There was no possible way to know what it was like in the bunker. We couldn’t even send Higgs in since the door was damn-near never open. If he had gotten in, there was every chance he wouldn’t have gotten out.

In other words, the second half of the plan was summarised quite simply as “improvise.” I knew for a fact that Time hated that plan.

We really needed more than a week to plan this…

“It’s an undeniable blind spot, and one we hardly have the time or resources to illuminate,” Ryou said in exasperation. “But standing around discussing it will hardly do us any good. The parade begins in a matter of hours. Dear girl, it is time for us to move out.”

“I hate to say it, but you’re right. There’s nothing more to discuss.” We had planned every step we possibly could for the infiltration, and had no further information to use once we were inside. We were massively, woefully underprepared. But like it or not, this was our only shot.

“Come back safe, Toki,” said Time. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Yeah,” I replied, slipping my cybernetic eye into it’s socket and looking back at her with a smile. “I know you will.”

***

We had familiarised ourselves enough with the area between the apartment and the infiltration target that we could get between them easily without being spotted by surveillance cameras. Not that it was an issue that day anyway: every resource the military and police had was going towards keeping the parade procession safe. So long as we avoided crossing paths with it directly, there was little risk of us being spotted.

From midday onwards, the noise in the city increased tenfold as the parade made its way through the crowded streets. Ryou and I, hopping from roof to roof and avoiding the crowds, stopped briefly to watch part of it pass us by. I was wearing my black cloak while Ryou wore a new deep purple one, both made to hide us in the night, but ironically making us stick out like a sore thumb in the day, so we made certain to avoid sightlines wherever possible.

It was only a small part of the procession, and yet it alone was a testament to how overmilitarised Japan had become. A company of cybernetic soldiers marching at the front, an armoured corps behind them and a dozen motorised infantry vehicles at the back. So much for “self defence force,” Japan seemed to be building up an army that could conquer the whole damn mainland.

“War is brewing…” muttered Ryou beside me. “These parades are always excessive, but this year has been extreme. They’re stoking national fervor to make the people more accepting of whatever conflict they’re planning to start.”

“All the more reason we need to rip this rotten system out at its roots,” I sighed. “Come on, let’s keep moving. The parade won’t last all day.”

Quietly, we hopped to the next roof and made our way along the route, keeping our heads low where we could. Outside of having to duck and hide from the jet flyover, the rest of the journey was mostly uneventful. Before long, we were at our minimum safe distance from the base.

“Near half of the watchtowers are unguarded. That bodes well for us. Once I’ve infiltrated, I’ll identify the patrols of the area and find you your window,” said Ryou.

“Got it. Stay safe out there, okay?”

“It is not me you must worry about, dear girl, but I appreciate the thought.”

A short moment and a flash of light later, she had disappeared entirely. She’d gotten better at hiding the flashes, which would hopefully serve us well for a mission so reliant on stealth. That or she was intentionally blinding me when we fought. The bitch.

I patiently waited several minutes, almost no sound in my ears outside of the gentle breathing coming through the earpiece. Just as I began to get impatient, she finally began to speak.

“Approach the first watchtower to your left. The light is on, but it’s unoccupied. Slip in fast.”

“Got it.” I stayed low to the ground and snuck towards the watchtower, keeping a close eye on the surroundings. Luckily, it really did seem that the outer area around the tower had almost no personnel presence. Getting to the edge of the base was far easier than I had expected. “I’m at the gate. What next?”

“Jump it. Make as little noise as possible. The other side is clear for now, but that can change quickly if you draw attention.”

I looked up at the monster of a fence in front of me. It was easily five or six metres tall, capped with barbed wire. To avoid making noise, I’d have to clear it in a single jump. Then I’d somehow have to land safely and quietly too. God, what a joke. Most fortified place in the country and I’m having trouble with the damned fence.

I held my breath, took a few quick steps and jumped with all my might.

I just barely cleared the fence silently, my foot slightly nicking the barbed wire on the way. The landing wasn’t quite so clean, my duck-and-roll not being quite as muffled as I hoped. I hid behind the legs of the watchtower and stayed as silent as possible, but heard no movement nearby.

“I’m in.”

“Good. There’s a storage container to your left, hide behind it.” I repositioned myself to where she guided me, stepping as quietly as I possibly could. “There will be two patrols 35 seconds apart. The next comes in ten seconds. Our rendezvous point is the airbase one hundred and fifty metres ahead of you. You must make it in less than twenty seconds without making noise.”

“You sure ask a lot,” I groaned. 150m in 20s was child’s play, but silently? That was a lot more awkward.

“It would be faster to just kill them, but it seems we’re not taking the common sense approach today,” Ryou sighed. “The first patrol has just passed out of sight, make your move.”

I stepped out from behind the container and ran towards my target, keeping my head low and my steps light.

A hundred metres left. The second patrol hasn’t shown up yet.

Seventy-five metres left. My heightened hearing picks up nearby voices.

Fifty metres. They’re dangerously close.

Twenty five. They’ll round the corner in seconds

Ten. They’re here.

“You truly are a master of escaping by the skin of your teeth, aren’t you, dear girl?”

“The fear of death is a good motivator,” I shrugged, before breathing a sigh of relief.

We were inside the base and past the first patrols. There was no turning back. The mission had officially begun.