WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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Chapter 198: Survivors (1)

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The helicopter formation that had escaped Fort Baker headed north along State Route 1, Shoreline Highway. From Golden Gate, it was the safest route out of the San Francisco metropolitan area.

Safest, in this case, meant they were prepared for an emergency landing at any time. Northwest of the San Francisco metropolitan area, the mountains went on without a break. They had to keep especially careful watch over the wide area centered on Mount Tamalpais, the highest peak in the Marin Hills, because this region was a natural habitat for giant sequoias. If a helicopter went down in that forest, the chances of survival would be slim.

Still, someone raised a different opinion once. It happened as they skimmed past the wide marsh of Bolinas Lagoon, with a white sand beach to the south, at the point where the road began to pull away from the coast.

[I think we should keep moving along the shoreline.]

The suggestion came from an ensign with the Coast Guard.

[In this area, Marin County, population density drops the closer you get to the coast. That means the chance of encountering mutant hordes should be lower too. There are almost no rocky beaches either, so an emergency landing would be easier. If we set down on shallow water, the impact will be minimized.]

And there was an even greater advantage.

[Most of all, it will be easier to request rescue from Navy or Coast Guard patrol vessels. Combat is probably still ongoing right now, but it should be wrapped up by the end of the day at the latest. We should be able to get help from the Carl Vinson strike group.]

It was the sort of idea that would come naturally to the Coast Guard. It had some merit too.

But it was impossible. Gyeoul did not even need to refute it. A dissenting opinion immediately came from the aircraft behind them.

[Short-sighted, Ensign. You know a new monster is roaming under the water, and you still want to head for the coast?]

The judgment of the Army captain, currently the senior officer by rank, was reasonable. Even if Melville Ray would be less dangerous in shallow water, there were other reasons as well.

[The Navy must be in chaos right now in more ways than one. Of course, a carrier strike group is not going to collapse no matter what, but predicting that the situation will be under control in a single day is far too optimistic. How successful do you think the Golden Gate blockade was? With that many ships pouring out?]

The Navy’s most important mission was the coastal blockade. Add the monster under the water, and it would take a fair amount of time to establish countermeasures. Since that included administrative procedures, the Navy’s operational posture would have no choice but to turn passive until command made a final decision.

[And how much longer can we stay airborne? Before long, we will have to land from lack of fuel if nothing else. The problem is that we are short not only on fuel, but on ammunition and food too. Food matters especially. If I remember correctly, there is really nothing along this coast, is there?]

The Coast Guard ensign confirmed it.

[That’s true... Most of it is designated preserve land.]

[Right? I do not want to wait for rescue with no guarantee. We cannot be the only ones who escaped either. Rather than sit around hoping for rescue that may never come, I think a self-help route is better. If we follow the road, it will be easier to determine our position and easier to find supplies and transportation. If things get bad enough, we can hunt for food.]

After finishing there, the captain asked for Gyeoul’s opinion.

[Is Lieutenant Han Gyeoul there? Damn it, I am only getting around to speaking to you now. What do you think? I would like to hear your opinion as well.]

The captain was not issuing unilateral orders because they belonged to different organizations.

And it was not only the division between Army and Coast Guard. Even though Gyeoul and the captain were both Army, they belonged to different units, which meant different chains of command. Add in a small number of CIA agents and the single FBI investigator, and it would be awkward for the captain to lean too hard on rank.

Even so, his attitude was moderate. It was not indecisiveness. He had clearly presented his opinion and was seeking agreement. More than that, even in a situation where he could easily have been swayed by all sorts of pressures, he was maintaining sound judgment. The same went for the Coast Guard ensign who had spoken earlier.

‘I’ll have to see more before I know for sure, but there’s a good chance they’re decent people.’

That was fortunate. They had made it through one crisis, but their situation was still precarious. Relieved by the officers’ character, Gyeoul answered the call from the empty copilot seat beside Joanna.

“I agree. Wouldn’t sending a rescue signal to the Navy be dangerous in itself? Even we are communicating at reduced output right now... A Trickster might arrive before the rescue team. Of course, it would not come alone. And with the sea on one side, we would be easy to surround.”

A soft groan went through the radio net. It belonged to the Coast Guard ensign. Radios modified after the appearance of the Trickster had a radio-wave attenuation function, but to contact the Navy, they would naturally have to transmit at maximum output. If a Trickster was within receiving range, it would be dangerous.

[I had not thought that far.]

“That happens. One more thing. The ships that escaped Golden Gate will move along the coast... The minefield will make landing difficult, but they will still try somehow.”

[Why is that?]

“Wouldn’t ships with plenty of fuel be rare?”

[Ah...]

“Whether they drift until they die or get caught in an explosion and die, dead is dead. Landing attempts will continue all along the coast. Then friction and fighting will naturally become frequent. If we assume mutants will be drawn in by that too, then heading toward the sea looks like more loss than gain.”

By the time the conversation reached that point, the helicopter formation had already gone deep enough inland that it felt too late to turn back. Since the road continued along a gentle gorge, the flight noise trapped between the mountains and forest would not carry far.

The lead pilot radioed.

[I do not see any mutants pursuing us. There will be no villages or cities for a while, so I think we can lower altitude further. We will descend to 20 meters.]

This was a measure to secure their safety. Given the characteristics of rotorcraft, at low altitude, even an engine failure would not lead to a major accident. The story would be different if the terrain were rough and full of obstacles.

No one objected. It would be a major problem if even a Grumble appeared, but the chance of encountering special mutants in a sparsely settled area was low.

‘There could be a scouting group like there was at Salinas, though...’

Gyeoul remembered the day he had headed to the lake to stop the dam from collapsing. Although the nearest city, Santa Margarita, was more than 10 kilometers away, there had been a group that included a Trickster.

But for now, he could set that worry aside.

Because Operation Manifest Liberation had failed.

During the operation, the mutants had shown signs of conserving their strength. With nuclear strikes cutting off supplies across a wide area, they would be preparing a large-scale offensive. Or perhaps it had already begun. Gyeoul expected it was probably the latter.

The plague had already failed to cross the containment line for more than a year. Now that a once-in-a-lifetime chance had arrived, would the most cunning among them not try to concentrate as many groups as possible?

The farther a region was from the front line, the lower the density of the plague would have to be. In exchange for the main force of the quarantine war facing an unprecedented crisis, the survivors here had become safer.

Not long after they lowered altitude, one aircraft finally caused trouble. Huh? Before the inexperienced pilot could even report the problem, aircraft 3 broke formation, rotated slowly, and began losing altitude. They had kept a safe distance at low speed, but every following aircraft panicked. Every aircraft except the one Joanna was piloting.

Aircraft 3 failed to recover output in the end. Its fuselage slid roughly down a gentle slope.

Thuuud-

It had not been a sharp fall, but the crash was loud enough to cut through the propeller noise.

[Aircraft 3, respond! Aircraft 3!]

The call from the lead aircraft repeated. But no reply came back. Judging by the people safely making their way out, they simply seemed too shaken to respond. Or something had gone wrong with the onboard radio.

“We’re landing! Brace for impact!”

Joanna’s sharp warning came with sweat beading on her forehead. She seemed to think she might make a mistake while tense. Fair enough, since she was landing on sloped ground in the dark without guide lights. There was no way to help, so Gyeoul simply gripped her shoulder firmly.

But the landing was surprisingly smooth.

“Hoo...”

As the exhaust noise gradually faded, Joanna leaned back against the seat, mentally drained. Only then did the hand she finally took off the control stick begin to tremble badly. She had sweated so much that dehydration seemed like a real concern.

“I’ll go ahead. Rest a little, then come out. We probably won’t move right away.”

He wanted to let her close her eyes for a while, but there was no helping it. Leaving her behind as she nodded weakly, Gyeoul climbed out. A cold wind blew from the direction of the ridge, from the black forest beneath the deep blue dawn sky. The stench of rotting plague was not mixed into it.

The other aircraft landed one after another. Landing was far harder than taking off, but everyone managed it somehow. The troops grumbled as they disembarked, but that was really an expression of joy. While the soldiers formed a circle and secured the perimeter, the commanders went around checking the crashed aircraft first, then looking for any wounded.

Kraaaaaaa-

A distant shriek. Tension surged for an instant.

But it was no real threat. Gyeoul, his rifle fitted with a suppressor, aimed north without even using night vision. Only three mutants were running across the grassland. His senses did not warn him of anything more either. Perhaps this was what a low-population area was like.

Dududuk!

Three aimed shots, almost a burst, granted rest to the plague hosts who had likely once been a family. A father, a mother, and a daughter. The child’s white dress was a clear target even in the night.

“You hit them from this distance without a laser sight? You can see that with the naked eye?”

The Coast Guard ensign, who had only managed to confirm the exact direction and distance after Gyeoul fired, sounded impressed. It was the same voice that had recommended heading toward the coast earlier.

“That’s Lieutenant Han Gyeoul for you. He’s not like ordinary people like us.”

The one who cut in was Ensign Barker. Since they belonged to the same organization, the two seemed close, and the ensign who had spoken first pouted.

“I would appreciate it if you did not subtly put me in the same category as you.”

Gyeoul checked the unfamiliar ensign’s name tag.

“Your name is... Ensign Escamilla?”

At that, she gave a crisp salute.

“My greeting is late. Violeta Escamilla, Coast Guard District 11, San Francisco Port Security Unit (PSU). I went through the academy with that one. It is an honor to be working with you.”

This was the first time Gyeoul had met a female officer in a combat branch in this world. It was not exactly surprising, since a quarter of Coast Guard junior officers were women.

Judging by her surname, there was a high chance she was Hispanic, but it was not especially pronounced in her appearance. Her bloodline seemed to have mixed several times over her parents’ generation and the generations above them.

At that moment, instructions were relayed by voice. No matter how much they lowered output, they seemed to have decided that being a bit noisy was better than using radio waves.

“Captain Langford is calling for us. Let’s go.”

In the direction Ensign Escamilla pointed, the Army captain was gathering the officers.

When they went over, the captain studied Gyeoul first.

“If not for your voice, I would believe you were a different person. Can you not remove that disguise right away? A lot of soldiers get startled every time they see you. I find it awkward myself.”

“It will be difficult. We do have a technician, but we barely got ourselves out. I think I have no choice but to wait for it to fade naturally over time.”

The captain smacked his lips, then formally introduced himself.

“I am Damian Langford. Commander of Alpha Battery, 2nd Battalion, 111th Field Artillery Regiment.”

“Artillery... sir?”

Gyeoul felt he understood a little better why the captain had been cautious in front of his subordinates.

“Yes. Fort Baker was a bridgehead prepared for the landing operation. I came ahead to provide fire protection for the base and wait for the main force as the vanguard of the regiment and the 116th Regimental Combat Team. Though that is meaningless now.”

Perhaps thinking back on the night before, he let out a long sigh.

“This is not the time to talk about that. First, let us introduce ourselves among our officers. After that, we will decide what needs deciding and take the necessary operational action.”

The officers had already gathered here for a while now. Perhaps because their organizations differed even though they had been stationed at the same base, introductions seemed necessary not only for Gyeoul, but also between the Army and Coast Guard officers. Gyeoul considered calling the CIA agents and the FBI investigator over, then decided there would be no point.

============================ Author’s Note ============================

#Q&A

Q. rumen: @What does it mean that the Trickster knows Gyeoul’s face? Does the Trickster recognize the importance of individual humans one by one and assign value to them?

A. The highly intelligent ones can. They identify dangerous individuals among the human species and share information.

Q. LunarKarma: @This suddenly came back to mind, but that hunchback mutant I can barely remember ever existed now... Increasing hosts, removing threatening enemies, and so on aside, it prioritizes survival over all else, has extremely poor combat power, and bodily fluids that evaporate... Could it maybe be some kind of pheromone? It is not something like an integrated database, a Trickster relay, or a proxy computation entity... right? If it is, there is really no answer in information warfare... Since it remembers Gyeoul’s face and spreads it beyond the sea... it feels like there might be some kind of relay station.

A. The true identity of Humpback will be revealed before long... probably within 10 to 20 chapters. Please wait just a little more.

Footnotes:

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