WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 426: Dawn, or Twilight (6)

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As expected, D-Day was set for a moonless night. The mutants, trapped in pitch-black darkness, would be forced into an extremely unfavorable battle against a joint task force making active use of infrared illumination.

On top of that, the light snow that had been falling for the past few days had slowed even the systematic arson carried out by those cunning things. It was not an environment where wildfires could easily spread. Once a forest did catch fire, however, it gave off far thicker smoke than before. Dry clouds formed at ground level and spread across a wider area on the cold wind, making it difficult to tell what lay beneath them through satellite observation and aerial reconnaissance alone.

Still, the armored airborne troops had so much firepower that it was not a major concern. Even if a hidden mutant horde had moved on a large scale, it would take them quite some time to grasp this side's intentions and true nature.

At this point, the one clear source of anxiety was that ballistic missile base. Until they confirmed what the inside looked like, they could not confidently guarantee success.

The afternoon spent waiting for deployment was unexpectedly open and relaxed. The equipment had already been loaded, and all the soldiers had to do was board on time. Unless changes were passed down, further meetings were meaningless. Since the departure could be moved up depending on the weather, it was only natural that they had finished preparing to deploy several days earlier. If anything, the soldiers hoped the waiting would end sooner.

Gyeoul filled that empty space with a call to Anne. With plenty of communications satellites left, the video call quality was mostly decent, aside from the unavoidable delay caused by distance.

'I feel a little bad for everyone else, but...'

An ordinary call might be one thing, but not everyone could spend hours on a video call like this. Gyeoul, as befitted a high-ranking commander, had been issued a laptop authorized for network access, but most soldiers had to stand in line in front of the limited terminals. Things were probably similar at Fort Roberts. By now, a long line would have formed in front of the military government office.

Still, it could not be helped.

Gyeoul decided to close his eyes and enjoy the privilege.

Anne had even pushed all her own work aside to make time.

"Is it really all right for the next deputy director to do that?"

When Gyeoul asked it like a joke, Anne shrugged on the monitor.

「What does it matter? I haven't even been officially nominated yet. Honestly, I do feel like the promotion is a little too fast.」

"There was Edgar Hoover, who became director at twenty-nine."

At Gyeoul's words, Anne let out a small laugh and gave him a sidelong look.

「Why compare me to someone like him, of all people?」

Edgar Hoover, the first director of the FBI, had become a hero through the first war on criminals, but he was also the embodiment of a lust for power, willing to use any means necessary for his own interests. As a result, about half his reputation was stained by abuse of authority.

「Besides.」

Anne added, emphasizing the word.

「Once I become deputy director, it'll be harder to make time for private matters. I don't like that part.」

She would not be able to refuse, though. Anne had a reputation of her own. She had received a medal for her achievements in San Francisco, contributed to suppressing the coup, and after the suppression, she had been recognized as one of the people who could be trusted with certainty and had carried out important duties. Her public profile might have been low, but among working-level personnel, there was hardly anyone who did not know her.

'Unofficially, there's also her relationship with me.'

Political calculations naturally went into choosing a deputy director. In other words, Anne was not only a proven talent whose ability and loyalty had been verified, but also someone who would be useful as the Bureau's public face in the near future.

"Now that I hear it, I don't like it either. Taking on another position of responsibility isn't as purely good as it sounds."

Gyeoul, saying this, had also worried about his own command ability as a battalion commander. Seeing him nod, Anne let out an exaggerated sigh.

「Exactly, right? It's an honorable thing, but still, it's a little... The one part I do like is that I'll be able to be more help to you.」

Then she shook her head.

「No, let's leave the troublesome topic there.」

The subject changed naturally. Anne said she had really liked the video Gyeoul had sent. Washington, where she was, was covered in white scenery like last year, but here on Ishigaki Island, even on the coldest days of January, the low temperature did not fall below 10 degrees Celsius. Wanting to share the southern scenery with his lover, Gyeoul had walked along a white sand beach where the waves rolled in and spoken to the camera. As if Anne were beside him. After hearing the warm words in that long take, she must have smiled in that moment.

Since the call stretched on, there were moments when the flow occasionally broke, but seeing each other's faces was enough on its own, so it did not matter much.

Gyeoul consciously avoided mentioning the operation. Anne did the same. Her outward manner looked natural, but Gyeoul could feel the anxiety she was trying to hide. The way she tried not to burden him was very, very lovable.

Then the base broadcast calling the commanders came from the speaker in the ceiling of his private room. Gyeoul pretended not to see Anne's expression stiffen slightly despite herself.

"It's already this late."

Click. He opened the pocket watch in front of the webcam. When Anne saw the photo of herself inside the cover, she relaxed with a soft puff of laughter.

「You're using that watch well. They say people don't even wind expensive watches carelessly.」

"I was like that when I had it because I planned to return it, but not anymore. I don't plan to sell a gift to anyone. It has meaning to me too."

It was a gift from none other than Lieutenant General Xieru. Gyeoul would remember her.

"It's a shame, but I should get going. I can't keep everyone waiting."

「...All right.」

Anne answered in an incredibly gentle voice.

「I'll be waiting, my champion.」

Gyeoul smiled.

The final briefing he attended afterward was less a briefing than a ceremonial reaffirmation of their resolve. Colonel Brusilov of the airborne troops (VDV) looked puzzled when he saw Gyeoul.

"You look well. Did something good happen?"

Still lingering in the afterglow of Anne, Gyeoul touched the corner of his mouth only after hearing that. Seeing this, Major General Kapralov said,

"You were obviously on a call with your lover until just now."

"..."

It was so accurate that there was nothing to say. The major general confirmed the guess through Gyeoul's slightly embarrassed reaction, then put on a needlessly sorrowful expression.

"Someday, you will remember my advice..."

"..."

Gyeoul simply gave an awkward smile.

After they finished dinner a little early, Lieutenant General Rogers addressed all forces over the base broadcast.

「At this point, there is nothing more I need to ask of you.」

After a pause, Rogers continued.

「We have prepared faithfully for that. And we have steeled ourselves even more than that. I am certain of this. Whether we succeed or fail, no one is better suited to this mission than we are. Therefore, all we need to do is give our best with the capabilities we have built up. Our best will be humanity's best. At the end of a battle fought with that best, there will surely be an honorable victory. In the history that continues from it, our friends, families, and lovers will live in a tomorrow without fear.」

The lieutenant general appealed to them as if making a vow.

「Let us end the apocalypse with our own hands.」

It was a short encouragement, one that suited Rogers's dislike of waste.

The Independent Battalion completed boarding its transport aircraft at 6:30 p.m. Considering cruising speed, about four hours would be enough to reach the skies above the operation area, but in reality, the flight would take a little longer. Even counting only the transports assigned to the Independent Battalion, there were fifteen of them. Add the other units to that, and the total passed three digits.

With a transport formation of that scale, no matter how high they flew, there was a chance they would provoke mutants across a wide area. To reduce noise, it was wiser to fly along different routes and at different speeds while matching arrival times.

For that reason, the actual drop time would be around midnight.

Another wait came after the long wait, creating a heavy silence.

The transport occasionally vibrated lightly. It was not dangerous. The command armored vehicle, topped with an uncomfortably large parachute, was firmly secured to the rails on the floor. Gyeoul was curious about the windy sky outside, but since there were no windows, it was impossible to see the stars floating above the clouds.

Operations officer Foster asked,

"Sir. Did you sleep well last night?"

Gyeoul nodded naturally. He had to give the impression that he was not too worried.

"Of course. What about you, Captain?"

Foster gave a wry smile.

"I tossed and turned a little, but there is no problem."

Gyeoul nodded again. He had answered that he slept well, but Gyeoul had long since forgotten sleep in the true sense. If he could still sleep as he had when he was alive, he too would probably have tossed and turned a little. Or he might have had nightmares where his worries took form. For a moment, Gyeoul missed the feeling of having nightmares. The reason was unclear. It was a feeling that brushed past him for one instant.

The captain worried at the silence with scattered bits of small talk. Each time, Gyeoul gave a suitable response. Even for someone who usually cut such a fine figure as a soldier, the silence in this situation seemed burdensome.

'Or maybe Foster is conscious of the soldiers.'

If Major Singh had been beside them, Singh would have joined in and created a better mood. But the major was now aboard another aircraft with half the battalion staff. It was a measure to preserve the unit's functions even if an accident occurred.

A suffocating and tedious stretch of time passed.

Beeeep.

The buzzer rang. The pilot called the cargo hold through the interphone and told them it was thirty minutes before the drop. The soldiers put on their oxygen masks on time without needing separate orders. Gyeoul also put on his mask and drew in oxygen with deep breaths. The oxygen gauge slowly went down.

A little later, the buzzer rang once more, and the red light came on. As the cabin pressure dropped, his ears began to feel blocked. Gyeoul boarded the command armored vehicle with his staff. Then, holding the watch in his hand out of habit, he counted the seconds in his head.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Clank!

The armored vehicle slid. Outside, the transport crew was probably pushing the chassis out. After inertia passed over them, gravity disappeared. No matter how many times he experienced it, it was a sensation that made his nerves tingle. The staff, who could not possibly fare better than Gyeoul, felt a moment of breathlessness.

About a minute later, something like a small explosion sounded above the armored vehicle's top armor. It was the sound of the parachute opening. Violent gravity immediately slammed down on everyone aboard. After the shaking subsided, Gyeoul asked, as a joke,

"Nobody bit their tongue, right?"

Communications officer Captain Evans looked embarrassed. Evans was prone to motion sickness and, during the first drop training, had breathed with an open mouth and bitten the tongue quite spectacularly. Blood had poured out so heavily that the other staff had been horrified.

Before long, the armored vehicle's body rang dully.

"The current position is... We came down quite accurately."

After checking the coordinates on the map, Gyeoul was satisfied with the successful start. One of the worst possibilities had been the whole unit being scattered by a gust of wind during the drop. The battalion's other vehicles had also stayed within the originally assumed margin of error.

Once the drop was complete, each Company assembled and moved on its own. Because they had practiced so much in advance, Gyeoul did not need to give separate orders right away. There was not a single soldier among them who had not memorized the surrounding terrain and operation objectives. He only received after-action reports confirming whether there were any problems at each phase. The less a commander had to do, the better.

A low-output radio transmission came in from Jin-seok. It was a message saying they would dismount the troops as planned and clear the surroundings. Noise was one thing, but if they wanted to minimize radio use, it was better to fight dismounted. Gyeoul sent a reply telling them to proceed. By keeping the vehicles close and securing cover, they planned to establish a defensive line while the search team investigated the ballistic missile base.

Gyeoul himself put on a gas mask and stepped out of the armored vehicle. He was mindful of the anthrax-resistant special mutant, Anthrax Rosie. That special mutant had not been observed around the Tibetan Plateau for a long time, but given the nature of anthrax bacteria, they could not avoid wearing gas masks.

Unfamiliar soil crumbled under his military boots.

At last, they had set foot on Ground Zero.

Footnotes:

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