WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 328: Return (11)

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Replies came flooding in around the time the morning workday began. There was nothing useful from the elderly Kang Yeong-sun, but Jang Yeon-cheol's side had secured several accounts. Runway expansion work had taken place around the date Dr. Campbell was seen. Most of the people assigned to that project remembered the unusually shaped transport aircraft. Since Gyeoul had attached an image to the messages he sent the two department heads, there was no room for confusion.

His suspicions now all but confirmed, Gyeoul wanted to speak privately with Brigadier General Laughlin at once, but today, of all days, a regular briefing was scheduled. It was meant to share the overall state of the quarantine war and other major intelligence. Half the briefing would be conducted remotely by Blockade Command. Though the mutants had been driven off the U.S. mainland, the ones south of the border remained a serious security threat.

Even so, the conference room felt relaxed. It was almost as if the war had completely ended. To be fair, even Gyeoul found it hard to feel the delayed apocalypse from here. It felt like a different world from the one he had known until recently. With mop-up operations in each region nearly in their final stages, the only people who would still feel the threat of the plague directly were the soldiers deployed on the front lines.

Of course, that only applied to the Army. The Navy's burden remained unchanged, and the Air Force was still pouring fierce bombardments onto every major route in Central America.

Yura entered ten minutes before the hour. She came in smiling, as if something had put her in a very good mood. As she looked around the room and spotted Gyeoul, her face brightened even more.

"Ah. Commander, is the seat next to you open? Can I sit there?"

"Yes."

Gyeoul nodded. There were no assigned seats. People were simply gathered in loose groups by unit.

"Aha. Looks like I'm lucky first thing in the morning."

As Yura happily sat down, some of the officers glanced at her. Most of those looks held interest in the opposite sex. Even now, when the skewed gender ratio had become a serious social problem, female officers commissioned into Army combat billets were still rare. Yura also had an impressive combat record. She might not be the sort of woman Americans tended to prefer, but any man would likely feel a distinct charm from her.

Not every look was friendly, though.

"...?"

Sensing a fixed stare, Yura turned her head. In that direction stood Jin-seok, looking displeased. He had arrived earlier than anyone, hesitated for a long while, and finally started toward Gyeoul, only to stop dead the moment Yura cut in. Even the distance between them was awkward.

Yura checked left, right, front, and back in turn. Maybe there was someone else he was looking at. But there was no one there except her and Gyeoul. In the end, Yura asked with a puzzled expression.

"Uh... what's wrong, Lieutenant Park? Did you want to sit here? If you wanted to sit next to the Commander, that side is open too..."

Jin-seok did not answer. He only stood there, looking somehow regretful. Unable to make sense of it, Yura eventually put on a sullen face.

"Sir. If you don't have anything to say, please go away."

She even made a shooing motion with her hand. Shoo, shoo. But Jin-seok's reaction was unexpected. When she told him to go, he actually went. He let out a deep sigh, shook his head, and turned away. Gyeoul asked Yura.

"Have you gotten closer than before in private?"

Yura took a moment before answering.

"Yeees, well. Since we came here, the platoon leaders have had drinks together a few times... Joseph and So-min were basically just extras because the kids were so nervous, though. Anyway, after hearing what he said while drunk, I think Lieutenant Park Jin-seok had been worrying about some things too. The awkward stuff between us, and his own image... Well, if my nickname was Pissed Jin-seok, I'd feel uneasy too."

She giggled softly, and her tone eased.

"He told me to forget it if I had any hard feelings toward him. He said he'd forget fairly too. It kind of felt like I was taking a loss, but I agreed. I'm a person with a ve-ry broad heart, you see."

Perhaps he had heard her, because Jin-seok could be seen faintly frowning in the distance. He had probably wanted to ask Gyeoul again about the next company commander. Unlike the company members, who had effectively been given leave, Gyeoul had become incredibly busy. To meet him outside times like this, Jin-seok would have to submit a separate request for an interview.

At any rate, both of them were now in a position where either might become the other's superior. Even before, they had certainly recognized each other's abilities. There was nothing bad about putting old feelings aside now.

The briefing began.

One feature of the quarantine war was that there was almost no need to maintain security against the enemy. So even large operations that would have been kept strictly secret until launch in an ordinary war were often revealed without concern. It had been that way during Manifest Liberation and Boar Hunt, and this time was no different.

The operations staff officer from headquarters appeared on the large screen with a satellite map open and began explaining.

"The first phase of Operation Continental Divide will be carried out by the Marine Corps alone. First, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force will conduct a deceptive landing at Cartagena to disperse the enemy's attention and forces. Next, once a sufficiently large mutant horde has taken the bait, the main objective, seizing the Panama Canal, will begin. I Marine Expeditionary Force will secure the southern entrance facing the Panama City urban area, while II Marine Expeditionary Force will secure Fort Davis at the northern entrance."

The conference room stirred for a moment. Everyone acknowledged the need for an advance into Panama, but the timing seemed far too early. Gyeoul felt the same.

'I expected it would happen after the administration changed, at the earliest.'

Just then, the operations staff officer mentioned the scheduled date.

"The Marine Corps main effort will probably deploy early next year, but 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, which will handle the lure, will begin its offensive on October 1. Time will be needed to draw in the enemy."

As Gyeoul turned that over, he felt he understood the intent of either the president or the commander of Blockade Command. Either way, they believed America could not settle for the current situation. That must be why they intended to make the advance into Panama a fait accompli before the administration changed.

Isolationism was spreading among the public. People argued that America should hold the current front and build up strength. The argument itself was reasonable. But no one said, in concrete terms, until when.

The screen changed.

"In the second phase of the operation, dredgers and Navy combat vessels will enter Gatun Lake and the inland waterways as preliminary preparation for building an inland defensive line. In the final phase, major urban areas will be destroyed through large-scale bombing, Army reinforcements will be committed, and arterial roads will be fortified to completely sever the east and west sides of the canal."

Among the ships scheduled for deployment was a battleship from the previous era. USS Missouri. Originally decommissioned in 1992 and converted into a museum ship, it had been returned to active service after refitting. In Gyeoul's view, its significance lay in its size and toughness. For soldiers who would be isolated far from the mainland, would it not offer a sense of security greater than its actual performance?

'It would also have plenty of room to take in ground troops in an emergency.'

The operation was already detailed enough that tentative lists of participating units and ships had been drawn up. It was not an idea that had been produced in a day or two. Planning had probably begun at least around the time Boar Hunt began looking likely to succeed.

"Wow..."

Perhaps Yura realized that too, because she let out a complicated exclamation. There was a hint of tension in it. The other officers, who had been relaxed before the briefing, reacted the same way. Even though the Army would have at least several months before it was mobilized.

That must have been another purpose of the briefing: to remind them that the war was not over yet.

When the briefing ended, both Yura and Jin-seok looked as though they wanted to talk with Gyeoul, but Gyeoul still had something to resolve.

'Where did the Brigadier General go?'

Laughlin had definitely been in the conference room at first, but now the Brigadier General was nowhere to be seen. The key staff officers of the Brigade Combat Team under Laughlin's command had also left their seats. Because of the weight of Operation Continental Divide, Gyeoul seemed to have missed them leaving midway. He asked a company commander from the Brigade Combat Team who had been sitting close to Brigadier General Laughlin.

"Do you know where the General went?"

"I'm not sure. The General went out to take a call earlier and hasn't come back since."

"Understood. Thank you."

After thanking the company commander, Gyeoul went to the command and control room and finally found the Brigadier General speaking with staff officers. He had imagined several possibilities, but the mood was not as serious as he had expected. Brigadier General Laughlin was asking an operations staff officer of the same rank as Gyeoul a question.

"So, what was the final damage to the convoy?"

"No casualties. There was some vehicle damage from the collisions, though. The transport personnel and their escort troops wiped out all the mutants before the mobile strike force even arrived. None of the specimens escaped."

"That much is a relief. Even if we had written waivers in advance, civilian casualties would have become a headache. Other people might refuse the work and quit too. Have you checked the aerial reconnaissance records and satellite photos?"

"Yes."

"Where the hell did they come from? I thought there were no more mutant hordes in this area."

"Look at this. We estimate they had been lying in ambush in the mountains east of San Miguel."

The operations staff officer placed a photo over the map. The dark-skinned Brigadier General stroked the chin.

"Strange... Too crude to call it a Trojan horse."

"Could they have been abandoned in a state of Metabolic Suppression?"

"Abandoned?"

"Yes. They were a group prepared for an ambush, but the specimen meant to send the signal... in all likelihood, a Trickster. At any rate, it is possible that the commander-class specimen died, or fled before getting a chance to launch the attack and left them behind."

"Hmm. They said the ones that appeared looked almost starved to death, didn't they?"

"That's right."

"That's persuasive. It makes sense. We'll need to strengthen security."

"Yes. I reported it to Blockade Command."

"Good work. Countermeasures should come down soon... There may be more of them in similar conditions. A new special mutant could emerge among those sorts as well. No harm in being careful."

It seemed civilian transport contractors hired by the Ordnance Bureau had been exposed to a mutant attack. Gyeoul waited for the conversation to end, then saluted the Brigadier General.

"Sir."

"Oh, Lieutenant Colonel Han. Is the briefing over already?"

Only then did the absorbed Laughlin notice Gyeoul and return the salute. After lowering the hand, the Brigadier General checked the time and tilted his head.

"There are still about twenty minutes before we start the handover work. Why don't you rest for a moment and come back? I hear you're extremely busy outside your duties too. Besides, I need a breather myself."

"I have something urgent to ask you. I would appreciate it if you made time."

"...Is it something difficult to discuss here?"

"Yes."

"Hm."

The Brigadier General looked around. The operations staff officer took one step back to indicate that their business was finished. After pressing lips together, Laughlin soon nodded.

"All right. Let's go to my office."

The move took no time. The General's office was practically attached to the command and control room. As Gyeoul entered last and closed the door, Brigadier General Laughlin raised one finger.

"Ah. Wait a moment."

Laughlin opened the tray of an audio player and put in a CD. After pressing the play button and adjusting the volume, the first track began after a brief crackle of static. Following the guitar introduction, a voice Gyeoul knew well began to sing.

The Brigadier General grinned and showed Gyeoul the CD case.

"I ordered it to show support for the people with you. It took a whole month to arrive... The song is good, but the album jacket came out very well."

In the photo, Song Ye-kyung had a baby wrapped on Song Ye-kyung's back in a baby carrier cloth and was sitting on a chair, playing guitar. The atmosphere was still and quiet. Sadness and exhaustion seeped from the lowered gaze.

'I heard Song Ye-kyung debuted through an introduction from a war correspondent...'

As Laughlin said, the power of the photo seemed to have played as much of a role as the singing in helping Song Ye-kyung gain some recognition as a singer. Of course, public interest in the Gyeoul Alliance would have played a part as well.

The Brigadier General sat down and gestured for Gyeoul to take a seat too.

"Now it should be hard for anyone to eavesdrop. Not that there would be anyone doing that in the first place, but you said this was something that shouldn't leak outside... Anyway, go ahead. What did you want to ask me?"

"You know that among the Korean refugee settlements, there is one allowed self-governance for religious reasons."

"And?"

"I suspect biological experiments may be taking place there. Do you know anything about this?"

"Huh."

The Brigadier General looked troubled by Gyeoul's words. After a brief silence, Laughlin slowly asked back.

"That is surprising. Why did you come to suspect that?"

"Because there was enough circumstantial evidence."

"Can I hear it?"

Laughlin, asking this, was not a skilled actor by any means. At least to Gyeoul's eyes, the emotion being hidden showed plainly. It was clear dismay, but no hostility was mixed in. For now, that much could be called fortunate.

Gyeoul explained his speculation. He began with Hwangbo Esther, the girl who had talked about Pastor Park Tae-sun's miracle, then moved through the indirect circumstances leading to April Pacific, the religious autonomous zone of the Full Gospel Saints, and Major Elijah Campbell.

After hearing it all, Brigadier General Laughlin stared at Gyeoul for a long while, then clicked his tongue with a bitter expression. Laughlin seemed to realize that the attempt to control any expression had failed.

"Well, damn... You came here already convinced."

"You aren't denying it. I would like you to be honest with me."

"What if I deny it to the end?"

"I don't think this is an issue I can simply let pass. So I would have to look for another method."

It was not an empty threat. For example, the media was still focused on Gyeoul. With the presidential election approaching, it was hard to believe press control would function properly. Merely raising the suspicion would be enough.

At the same time, deciding to eliminate Gyeoul outright would be difficult too. It could not be treated as a simple disappearance or mysterious death.

"...Tsk. Revealing the truth is not always beneficial."

The Brigadier General gave up with a click of the tongue and leaned back against the chair.

"I thought I was handling it well enough to avoid being found out. Unfortunate. It would have been better if you had stayed unaware only until you left for D.C."

In other words, this implied that while Gyeoul was away in Washington D.C., the people of the Full Gospel Saints were scheduled to disappear somewhere. Displeasure also appeared on the Brigadier General's face while speaking.

"To tell the truth, even I don't know much. A curtain had already been drawn over that place long ago. At first, FBI investigators visited regarding the 「True Patriots」, but later people from the Medical Service Corps, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention came pouring in."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Since it's come to this, I'll just call the person in charge. The Dr. Campbell you mentioned. I don't think shutting you up or persuading you is my role."

"The people above will handle it," Brigadier General Laughlin muttered while taking out a phone.

Footnotes:

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