Chapter 1: First Patrol.

Now in 2033 the nation formally known as the Crown republic of Rosé is under the control of a PMC group by the name of the Federal PMC Coalition Government or FPMCCG for short. The nation is now split between those that grasped and controlled their newly awakened powers and those who’s powers overran them and so aren’t able to control their actions without the help of the LOGIC system, which was developed to help those who couldn’t control their powers but also to make the use of powers by individuals easier during a time where social constructs were collapsing or non-existent. But now that system is under the control of the FPMCCG and is being repurposed so they can use it to expand the influence of their operation to other nations that have been hit by the virus. However, there are a few brave enough to fight back against the military government and try to restore a diplomatic government and re-establish relationships with other nations after the virus, those who fight are called the Restorers of LOGIC. But time is running out to save what remains and if the light they create goes out who will save the people then? The members of the Red October squadron are four of the brave people that are within the Restores. They are Aoi Tsuki, a short shy girl with long brown hair that covers one of her sapphire blue eyes, she styles it this way to enforce the fact she is shy onto others and has no distinctive features about her as she doesn’t dress to impress as she is generally in the shadows. Shian Taron, a tall distinctive girl with short-ish bright red hair and emerald green eyes and dresses to catch the attention of everyone in the room weather that’s taking advantage of her good looks or because her fashion choices are too bold for the room to grasp she likes the attention it gives her. Kakōgan Urutora a mid-height boy with spiky black hair modelled after a popular anime character from years ago, his eyes are jet black and likes to wear black as his favourite anime character growing up always wore black, like Shian he enjoys being the centre of attention. And lastly Kiiroi Yūki, like Aoi is very shy a boy on the shorter side with short blond hair and has earth brown eyes, and dresses to be perfectly hidden in the crowd only noticeable if you’re looking for him or he’s looking for you. These four teenagers are a part of the larger Restorers organisation but complete missions from the top as their own independent unit and they are currently out on a supply run for one of the civilian settlements that the Restorers protect.

“Aoi see anything?” This is a regular call by the team’s captain Kakōgan to Aoi on their long trip between the Hiroto underground settlement and the local FPMCCG food resource drop point, as they begin the weekly raid on the supply drops so the settlement can continue to be fed without them needing to exit the safety of the settlement to forage for any food left in the city after the virus hit 3 years ago.

“No, no. M-my clairvoyance isn’t finding any FPMCCG s-soldiers hiding amongst the rubble at this point. T-this would be the ideal point for an ambush. With the s-sun shining in, in the tunnel mouth at this time of the d-day, blinding us to what’s waiting outside the tunnel mouth.”

Moving towards the East portal of the Taiyō tunnel which runs underneath the city of Ōtārū, closing in on the portal means they will soon be leaving the protection of the tunnels that hide the settlement of Hiroto and walking out onto the streets of Ōtārū. As progress is made towards the food drop point which is in the north-eastern block of the city close to the FPMCCG’s forward base in Ōtārū. Which makes this run more risky than other drop point raids but if it succeeds then it puts a major dent into the sustainability of the forward base for the FPMCCG. Which should make the area safer for the civilians still living inside the city, for the time being. When the outbreak began most people left large cities and went to rural areas, but a few chose to stay and create settlements in the ruins of the old.

“Aoi you’re sure that there’s nothing waiting for us at the end of the tunnel.”

“Y-yes Kakōgan, no-no one is within 2 blocks of us that aren’t those we just left behind at the settlement.”

“Ok, but isn’t it odd that they haven’t caught on to the fact that we always come from the tunnel when raiding the drop point?”

“It’s not that odd, they’ve never seen the route we’ve taken to get there or back before, but if they do know it’s more concerning they don’t take any action rather than odd if anything Kakōgan.”

“I guess that’s true, Kiiroi.”

As the group press on towards the drop site, Shian starts to get increasingly more annoyed that there is no enemy presence here for so she can test her new H&K 416, it to the point that concern washes over the team that she might open fire on one of them if no FPMCCG are found soon. To the relief of the team the timid sniper Aoi calls out hostile positions for a squadron moving parallel to us 2 blocks away and 12 blocks from the drop point.

“Kakōgan there are 5 hostiles in a fly-flying V formation head-heading towards the drop site o-one block to our r-right and o-one block ahead of us. D-do you want to move in and engage the enemy now w-whilst they’re a small unsupported group?”

“Yeah makes sense to do so. Everyone prepare for combat, Aoi keep an eye out for any sudden movement changes in the hostile force. The rest of you make sure your weapons are loaded and primed before we get within range of the targets.”

“Roger!”

The group move low and fast behind the group of FPMCCG soldiers, so that the enemy don’t notice they are there before they’re ready to engage them. The moment the group are within acceptable range the order to fire was communicated through hand signals. Gunfire broke the city’s silence as the team started a quick and easy firefight. In all it lasted about 10 seconds from start to finish, after checking the bodies for anything useful the Red October press on and prepare themselves for a larger fight once the next 12 blocks have been traversed, to the food drop location outside the Ōtārū Forward Base. After making the last 12 blocks to the food drop point that was designated by a circle of red flares on the asphalt by the FPMCCG. After quickly surveying the area it looks fairly deserted apart from those 8 flares on the ground forming an octagon like circle.

“Aoi, are there any hostiles here to contest this?”

“N-no, not yet. B-but there is still an hour until the drop actually h-happens, maybe we should report that we’ve arrived t-to, the settlement and there are p-preparations to r-receive a food d-drop here, Kakōgan.”

“That’s a good idea Aoi. Hey, Shian can I have the radio?”

“Huh? Oh sure. Anything else I can do you for leader?”

“I don’t know maybe the right frequency would be nice.”

“Ok, ok that’s all set up for you. Jeez, I’m so bored right now sorry. But hopefully the new range extender thingies will do something.”

“How are you bored already you got to shoot like 5 minutes ago? But I hope the range extenders do something would be a waste otherwise. Hiroto settlement this is Red October do you copy?”

“We’re here Red October, the range extenders work perfectly, what is it that you needed today?”

“We’re at the scouted food drop point, currently there are no hostiles contesting this location, and there are the standard 8 flares on the ground marking out the drop circle.”

“Ok, we have a team ready to go if you need the backup when the fighting starts.”

“Thanks, Hiroto settlement. We’ll contact you once the mission is over or if we need reinforcements sent out.”

“Ok, ending transmission.”

After finishing our radio call with Hiroto settlement preparations for the coming combat were started, Aoi moved into and scaled a building with her L115A3 sniper rifle for some overwatch for the rest of us. Kakōgan and Shian set up cover points around the drop point as well as barricades to make the FPMCCG’s advance harder. Kiiroi went around setting up traps in locations he’d seen the FPMCCG take in previous encounters that Kakōgan and Shian hadn’t remembered or thought of. His power being foresight meaning he likes to set up traps and hide like a ghost with his Vector .45ACP until he knows the kill is his. Shian likes to use a H&K 416 and I like using most weapons but in this situation I use a modified Howa Type 89 which has been modified to be capable of shooting longer distances. With preparations complete and still 15 minutes until the drop time, there was a call from Aoi about approaching hostiles a few blocks out, so the last bits of set up were completed and weapons were set into our preferred firing mode. Finally the team get mentally psyched for the coming battle. The next call from Aoi nails down the hostiles approach speed, and most importantly their numbers. Two full platoons were dispatched to secure the drop area, means there are 35 of them split into five squads of seven people. The FPMCCG have the large numbers advantage but the team of the Red October have an advantage in the cover that has been set up and the barricades which have been erected to hinder the progress of the FPMCCG. But that still doesn’t diminish the fact that each will still have to kill 8.75 of them for the restorers to come out successfully. The enemy will soon be in range of Aoi who should pick off some before the rest run for cover and then it’s up to those on the ground to get the rest.