Humanity's Stand

Pest Control

Thunderous cracks and booms echoed through the Siberian landscape as the Russian Jaeger Cherno Alpha stomped its way through the forest tundra. Pine trees hundreds of years old were snapped like toothpicks by Alpha's massive metallic legs. What few native animals that still dared to live here fled in a panic at the appearance of the giant, most thankfully having the sense to run back towards where the thing had come from, rather than in the direction of its target. Several hundred feet above the forest floor in the center of the mechanical monstrosity stood three people in an enclosed cockpit, moving along with the motions of their Jaeger.

"How far are we from the target?" Sasha Kaidanovsky asked as she pumped her legs forward in tandem with her husband.

Aleksis reached out with his unadorned arm and tapped at the control board in front of him, enlarging the map in their HUDs. "Five kilometers. We should be meeting with the kaiju soon. Reznov," Aleksis turned slightly to indicate the third person in the cockpit sited behind and between the two pilots. "Are our allies there?"

A loud chortling was his initial answer. "Indeed my friend. They are waiting for us just beyond that rise. We should hurry comrade. One of them is sounding as impatient as I am."

Aleksis laughed. Victor Reznov had been a close friend to the Kaidanovskies ever since their days as prison guards in a (now abandoned) gulag, with Reznov as one of the prisoners. Turns out calling the then President of the Russian Republic a 'weak-willed slovoch' to his face was a bad idea. When asked about the incident, Reznov had told them that he'd actually been holding back, and had been just a few moments away from assaulting the man himself. Reznov's hometown had been wiped out in a Kamacuras attack and the Jaeger assigned to defend the area had been recalled, based on the small chance that the monster would turn towards Moscow.

Taking pity on the man, Aleksis had made an effort to improve his lot, granting him better food and great access to other areas. Reznov had promptly taken the gifts and shared them out amongst the other prisoners, quickly becoming a favored friend of practically every inmate. By the time the prison was shut down years later and Reznov released (after being revealed as a telepath) the man had most of the facility, guards and prisoners alike, listening to his commands. When the Kaidanovskies had been chosen as Jaeger pilots they had brought Reznov along so he could learn to use his powers, and he had been near them ever since.

"Why so quiet my friends?" Reznov asked. "Is this not a moment for excitement? At long last we will free our land of these annoying pests and make the Rodina safe for us all."

"Those pests happen to be 60 meter tall Praying Mantids who outnumber us 8 to 3, Reznov," Sasha commented. "We are a bit more concerned than excited at the moment."

"It matters little," Reznov said, undaunted. The unspoken chance at revenge glittered on his aged face. "We shall swat them like the frail insects that they are and destroy them once and for all." He paused as his eyes defocused for a moment. "Our friends are just up ahead in the ravine."

The Jaeger turned as it came around the tree-covered hill, sensors automatically sweeping the now revealed terrain. Radar and thermal imaging immediately picked up the two kaiju waiting for them, causing an alert to be sounded in the cockpit and pulling the Kaidanovskies up short. Both kaiju were slightly larger than the Russian juggernaut, both in height and weight, and were covered in think, armor-plate-like scales. The similarities ended there though.

The nearer one stood at an angle, resembling in many ways the old-timey look of a tyrannosaur in the ancient days of paleontology. His head was giant in proportion to his body, sporting rather sharp pillar sized teeth, while his arms we decidedly smaller, hanging limply in their sockets. In comparison his legs were much larger, bearing quite some resemblance to a kangaroo's.

Greetings humans, Gorosaurus said over the mind link to Reznov, and through him to the Kaidanovskies. It will be a great pleasure to work with you in removing this threat from the region.

The other kaiju scoffed, the sound reverbing slightly in the close quarters of the ravine. Whatever, Gabara groused. Let's just get this over with. With that the humanoid orge pushed off the now cleared hillside and stomped past the other two.

Gorosaurus sighed and said, My apologies for his behavior. Gabara can be rather… abrasive at times.

The two pilots shared a stone faced look, remembering a time when Gabara had been working for the other side. "We'd prefer abrasive over destructive for now," Sasha said in a flat tone.

"I care not about his attitude," Reznov declared. "I care only for his fighting skills."

Aleksis grunted in agreement then asked over the mind link, "Are you both aware of the plan?"

Gorosaurus nodded as he began to walk after his fellow monster. Yes. We will form a circle in front of the mountain near the nest and draw them in, dealing with them when they get close.

It was a simple plan but it was really all that was needed. Kamacuras were among the few non-sentient kaiju and as such were unaligned with either side of the kaiju war. They were not inactive however, as their numerous attacks on both cities and livestock caused plenty of damage before they could be driven off. An assault on the primary Kamacuras nest would not draw too much attention from the mutants, giving the GDF a chance to test their telepathic communication in the field while also giving the rest of their forces time to finish some hasty upgrades.

It was not lost on the Kaidanovskies that both groups had sent arguably their weakest (or in Gabara's case, the least desirable) fighters on this mission. Though their losses would be felt dearly in case of failure, no one in this group was a game changer in their own right. They did not care though. Cherno Alpha was one of the first Jaegers built and the oldest still in service, which meant it was heavily outdated and had a growing list of maintenance problems looming over its nuclear tower head. None of these problems had ever stopped them from doing their job before, and they would not do so now. Besides, their opponents were Kamacuras, kaiju that had been beaten by regular military units in the past. The danger, so long as they all worked together, would be minimal.

A few minutes of relative silence passed as the three titans made their way through the forest (relative due to the continued leveling of said forest). As he walked Gorosaurus adopted a more horizontal stance, making him look much closer to the modern interpretation of his type of dinosaur. Gabara was busy running currents of electricity over his paws, his footsteps growing faster and lighter as the prospect of combat approached while his face bore a rather nasty smile. Sasha and Aleksis ran over their status checks one last time, searching for any outstanding issue that might crop up in the heat of battle. Thankfully for the husband and wife team the mechanics back at the Shatterdome had managed to pull off the improbable and fix everything immediately wrong with their aging mecha. Even the new alien alloy armor upgrades had been applied with a minimum of problems, an event practically unheard of in Jaeger maintenance history.

"One kilometer to the nest," Aleksis called out. "The mountain should be on the left, 200 meters."

Calling the 200-meter tall outcrop a mountain was a bit generous, but it was the highest bit of real estate situated anywhere near the Kamacuras nest and the relevant face was sheer enough to be mostly clear of trees, meaning the tricky bugs couldn't use their camouflage to hide up against it very easily. The group tramped their way over to the bottom of the cliff face, stirring up several irate flocks of extremely brave fowl as they did. Now at their destination the trio reoriented into their planned positions. Cherno Alpha took the center front, being the physically toughest and having thermal cameras that could negate the Kamacuras' camo advantage. Gorosaurus and Gabara took the flanks, ready to protect the Jaeger's sides and rear. Now to bring in the bass, Aleksis thought.

"Gorosaurus, my comrade," Reznov said with a slasher's grin, "please alert these pests to their doom."

The saurian nodded and drew in a huge gulp of air. He then released it all in a mighty roar that could be heard for miles around. The speakers in Cherno's cockpit had to dim down temporarily to not be blown out from the sheer volume.

Damn it Gor! Gabara cursed as he started rubbing his ears. Little warning next time eh bigmouth?

The dinosaur grumbled at the other kaiju and retorted, Perhaps if you had been listening to the conversation, you would not have been caught off guard?

The ogre didn't get a chance to retort as Sasha noticed movement on her radar and said, "Contacts detected! Looks like we tripped the hornet's nest."

Sure enough a cloud of lime green kaiju began to appear from a gap in the forest about a kilometer distant. The Kamacuras literally were just gigantic praying mantids, looking exactly the same as their monumentally tinnier cousins. Despite their size though the Kamacuras were still incredibly fast, which, combined with their camo abilities, made them very dangerous opponents if they could concentrate on one target. Thankfully the insects' capacity for complex tactics was very limited, boiling down to 'sneak up while they aren't looking'. Cherno Alpha carried the group's counter to that, and as the beasts flew toward the trio of intruders, the mech launched a pod of UAV's to add to its vision.

"Reznov," Sasha said, "I'm bringing up the drones' views on your screen. Use them to call out target vectors to the kaiju."

"Da my friend," Reznov confirmed. "The sukas will not get close."

Said sukas were actually starting to get close, hovering low to the ground and zipping towards them erratically. The Kamacuras furthest forward suddenly flew upward then began to dive bomb on Cherno.

"Cover us while we handle the first one," Aleksis shouted. Two mental acknowledgements went over the mind link as Alpha angled itself so its stance was vertical towards the descending bug. Just as the Kamacuras was about to ram into Alpha the Russian juggernaut grabbed the creature in a bear hug and body slammed it into the cliff. The force of its own momentum driving it forward and Alpha's 20,000 tons landing behind it pulped the Kamacuras' exoskeleton and killed it almost instantly. Cherno pulled back and watched as the swatted insect fell to the ground in various pieces.

The other members of the hive were not idle as one of their brothers died. One slipped into its cloak and ascended, landing atop the mountain and lining itself up for an attack from behind. Two more split up and descended on Gabara from either side. The ogre wasn't the least bit concerned by the two-pronged strike. Rather, his smile merely morphed into a demonic form as he crouched his legs and waited for the right moment. Right as the two kaiju were about to tackle Gabara from both sides he leaped backwards at the last instant, leaving the bugs to smack face first into each other. The Kamacuras chattered angrily at each other and struggled to separate themselves from their unfortunate tangle. Their arguing was cut off as Gabara grabbed both of their heads in his hands and pumped wave after wave of electricity straight into their brains. Once their carapaces started smoking he let them go, the bugs' blackened skulls turning to ashes when tapped them.

"Well done comrades," Reznov shouted proudly. "Goro, there is a bug behind you on the hill. Watch yourself."

Thank you, Gorosaurus said, as he turned to face the sheer mountain face above him. The Kamacuras, realizing it was spotted, decided to make its move, launching itself off the rocks and flying down towards Cherno's exposed head and back. Before it could land on the jaeger and stab its arms into Alpha's back, Gorosaurus used his massive hind legs and leaped to intercept the other kaiju. The two giants landed against the lower slopes of the hill, Gorosaurus latching his jaws into the Kamacuras' central body and ripping through it easily, killing the creature in a shower of insect blood.

And just that quickly half the swarm was eliminated, leaving the odds much more favorable for Cherno and its allies. The swarm wasn't happy about this though, and decided to forego any further caution by barreling in on the trio. "Watch out everyone!" Reznov cried out. "Things are about to get very interesting!"

Gabara was the first reached, the ogre smacking away his first attacker with a lightning wreathed punch then turning to catch the second, roaring with rage as one of its pincers stabbed into his shoulder. Gorosaurus took an instant too long to remove his teeth from the dead Kamacuras, leaving him unprepared for the bug landing on his back and snapping its mandibles at the back of his neck. Goro started bucking himself up and down to remove the beast from his back, but the Kamacuras held on tight, using his pincers as anchors in Goro's flesh. Cherno had a bit more warning and folded its arms over its chest as protection, blocking most of the Kamacuras' force but getting knocked on its ass.

"We need to get it off us," Aleksis shouted while trying to push the mantis' head away from their power source.

Sasha nodded and started typing away at her console to activate their counter. "Powering up the Tesla Fists."

Though not technically designed as an imitation of Gabara's lightning paws, the Tesla Fists used much the same principle of shocking the target by way of contact electrocution. Once Cherno's fists were ready Sasha set them to discharge on the Kamacuras, sending it skittering away chattering madly. Cherno used its new freedom to rush over Gorosaurus and slug his assaulter off with a still surging punch. The punch snapped the Kamacuras' arm easily, and the freed Gorosaurus wasted no time taking his revenge on the crippled bug. Leaping forward as soon as he was on his feet, Goro landed atop the insect and tore the thing limb from limb with his jaws. The Kaidanovskies looked on in awe as the giant dinosaur ate the giant praying mantis alive, too stunned by the ferocity on display to move.

Off to the right Gabara was still fighting his two Kamacuras, easily keeping track of both opponents and preventing them pinning him down. By the same token though he couldn't get any hits back on them as he was too busy moving back and forth to catch them and zap them. Hey, he called out over the mental link, if you chuckleheads aren't too busy then maybe you could grab one of these assholes and get them off my back!

"Shit," Sasha cursed as she realized her distraction. "We're on our way."

Reznov interrupted their progress as he said, "Bug approaching, left side!"

Cherno barely had time to start its turn towards the attacker when the bug landed on its shoulder, stabbing at the weak armor on Cherno's arm.

"Get off!" Aleksis roared, smashing his other arm against the bug's face, tearing the creature off Cherno and killing it in the same blow. The damage had been done though, as Cherno's left arm had been rendered useless, exposed wires and circuits sparking in the open air. Gorosaurus, remembering his ally through his blood rage, finished with his impromptu meal and moved to support his fellow kaiju, with Cherno following afterwards.

The aide was a bit slow though, as Gabara had been forced up against the cliff and was aggressively trying to fend off the two Kamacuras, who were darting in and out to nibble at the larger kaiju. Finally one managed to slip in past Gabara's flailing arms and latched onto his leg, ripping through his scales and slicing into the deep muscle of his upper thigh. Gabara screamed over the mental link, his agony easily felt by the others equally. The feeling spurred Goro on to greater speed, allowing him to catch the other Kamacuras by its leg before it could move in on the ogre. Goro held the bug in place while Cherno came up and elbow-dropped onto its body and mashed it with its sheer weight. The final Kamacuras heard his brother's dying screech and foolishly tried to see his death, only to lead to his own. Gabara grabbed the Kamacuras' head between his paws and squeezed with all his might, squishing the thing and causing numerous disgusting liquids to flow out. Take that you fucking prick, Gabara muttered to himself.

The three combatants stilled to catch their breath. Each took a moment to look around the battlefield, taking in the carnage and debris that lay in the wake of their titanic fight. The entire landscape in front of the mountain had been cleared of trees, the broken, smashed, and shattered remains of the eight Kamacuras spread out over the now empty plain.

Inside their cockpit the Kaidanovskies panted lightly, thanking their lucky stars that they had managed to survive the fight. "Mission accomplished," Sasha announced finally. "Let's get out of here." The Jaeger turned and started off in the direction of its pickup point several kilometers distant. The kaiju headed the other way, Gorosaurus leading the way while Gabara followed more slowly, hissing with each step on his injured leg. Gabara made a point to smash each Kamacuras corpse he passed, cursing each one as he did.

As they left the battle zone, Sasha keyed up her long range radio and said, "Nest is clear of all hostiles. Bombing run is now clear."

"Roger that Alpha," the voice on the other end stated over the static. "We're rolling in on the drop zone now."

Cherno Alpha turned its cameras back towards the nest long enough to watch the rain of thermobaric bombs fall upon the nest and wipe away any trace of the Kamacuras' existence. Reznov's voice was the only one to speak, a layer of satisfied hatred coloring his tone. "Good riddance."

---

Lauren Faust fell back in her chair with a heavy sigh, her exhausted mind wishing it was instead the surprisingly comfy bed she had back in her quarters. For the last three days Stacker and company had been grilling Lauren and Craig on every possible detail about Equestria. People, places, systems of government, military, economy, population, technology levels, types and uses of magic. Anything and everything that could be useful was studied, analyzed, studied some more, then either praised for being better than what humans could accomplish or mocked for being utterly ridiculous. Occasionally at the same time. In some ways the meetings were remarkably similar to the discussions Lauren sometimes had with the fans, only slightly more in-depth and with quite a bit more seriousness all around.

"So do the dragons have a government, or do they all just do their own thing?" someone asked. Lauren couldn't summon the energy to see who it was.

Craig, seeing just how out of it Lauren was at the moment, decided to answer for her. "They don't really care enough have any sort of organization. The only time they meet up is for the Great Dragon Migration, and they don't really do much during it."

"What's the Migration for exactly?" Newt asked while holding up his notepad and pen. "Do they gather together so they can compare hoards? So their kids can meet up? Cause most species that migrate do it to mate."

Lauren's eyes widened in realization then stopped seeing anything as her hand slapped up to cover them. "And now I'm imaging Spike being introduced to sex by teenage dragons. Thank you so much Newt. That was definitely an image my head needed to have."

Craig glared at Newt, who was smiling meekly and trying to disappear in his chair.

"We're getting off topic," Pentecost announced to draw everyone away from the current tangent. "What we want to know is how much of a threat the dragons would be to the kaiju in their reduced states."

Lauren shook her head back and forth, both to try and wake herself up and to get rid of the very inappropriate thoughts she had accidentally created. "No more dangerous than they would be to the average Equestrian. Dragons don't really interact with the ponies very much. They prefer to live alone in their caves. The odds are pretty good none of the kaiju will even see a dragon while they're there, let alone have to fight one."

A poorly stifled yawn came from Lauren's left and she saw General Gordon leaning angrily on his (thankfully sheathed) katanna. "This is pointless. It's been three days now and we're no closer to figuring out what the hell the monsters are there for. Can we just chalk it up random chance and move on already?"

Dr. Gottlieb stood up at the complaint and said, "I have already explained that there is no conceivable way this was anything other than a deliberate act. The chances of the Dimension Tide transporting the kaiju to a world that can be near perfectly described by a television show of all things is so improbable you would be better off betting on a snowball surviving for five minutes in the core of the Sun. The probability is simply too astronomical to be taken seriously as a reasonable outcome."

"But that just leads to the question of who could have done it in the first place." General Tachibana said. "Even after years of study Dimension Tide's wormhole activities are impossible to predict, let alone control. Saying that someone deliberately sent the kaiju to Equestria would imply that they had a better understanding of DT's workings than the people who have been using it for more than half a decade, something that should be flatly impossible."

Craig chuckled and said, "You'd think after sixty years of living in a world of kaiju we'd have given up on the idea that something should be impossible."

"He's right," Pentecost said. "Someone, or something, is behind all of this, and we need to figure out who that is before they make another move. The question is how."

Gordon huffed. "Why not start with those terrorists we captured? They might know something, and even if they don't we could use them to finally root out those damn kaiju loving freaks who've been bugging my forces for so long." A wry smile appeared on his lips as he added, "I know Gondo would love to have a piece of those two for all the damage they caused, not to mention the two deaths on the leader's order."

Tachibana nodded and said, "I agree Stacker. Those two must have some important information in their heads, and besides that they are very dangerous individuals on their own. They need to be dealt with eventually. Might as well get some value out of them."

Pentecost absorbed his general's advice for a moment before he stated, "Very well. We will interrogate the prisoners for any and all information they have on the unknown entity and their own organization. I'll have Miki Saegusa head the effort. She has the best chance of breaking their mental barriers and removing the information harmlessly."

Tachibana accepted the idea immediately, but Pentecost could tell from Gordon's face that he doubted Miki would be an able interrogator. Normally Stacker would agree and have someone less discerning at the helm, but he had good reasons for choosing his surrogate daughter for the job. Reasons Miki herself had provided.

Stacker's thoughts were interrupted as he heard a very loud, very exhausted sounding yawn come from the other end of the table. He smiled slightly at the innocent unprofessionalism and said, "Alright, that's enough for today. You are all dismissed." He turned to Lauren and said, "Rest well Mrs. Faust. You've earned it."

Lauren nodded sleepily and shambled off, Craig standing as a support at her side, comforting arm draped over her shoulder. Gordon, Ozaki and Tachibana headed off in silence, their heads no doubt filled with thoughts on the coming war and preparing their areas of control for the fighting to come. Newt and Gottlieb trundled away after them, arguing for the umpteenth time on some topic only they cared about, the other analysts following and having their own, much quieter conversations.

Once the room was clear Pentecost took a moment to rub his eyes, trying not to feel envious of the animators he had just sent off to rest. The perks of being head of the Global Defense Initiative were many, but adequate sleep was not one of them. As it was he would have to stay up for several more hours to hear about the outcome of the Kamacuras mission, then stay up even later to alter plans and preparations based on the results. Pentecost allowed himself a rare sigh at the knowledge of the long night ahead. Proud as he was of his job and his many accomplishments in his position, sometimes he just felt the need to lament how much it sucked to be leader.

Like knowing that his adopted daughter was planning to risk her mind and health trying to understand the thought process of an attempted genocider based on a single instant's insight gathered under duress. I hope your impression was right Miki, Pentecost thought as he dialed up the phone to his daughter's office. Because it's about to be put to the test.

---

Silence. Pure, ineffable silence. It was all Taiyou could focus on. She rustled a bit on her cot, not out of discomfort, but simply to break that oppressive quiet, even if only for just a moment. For three days the telepath had sat alone in this plain white room, with only herself and the perfect silence for company.

There had been many things Taiyou had expected after waking up and remembering her capture, each more painful and agonizing than the last. Her master had warned her that the GDF were ruthless, willing to use any means necessary to break their enemies, whether for information or just the sheer thrill of it. Her telepathy teacher had told her numerous horror stories of fellow believers who had been brutally beaten and even mauled before they could be rescued by their brothers, and none of them had ever survived the experience. She'd spent hours after awakening preparing her mind as best she could for the inevitable onslaught, waiting with well-hidden terror for the assault to start.

But nothing had happened. No one had come to fetch her for questioning; no instruments of torture had sprouted out of the walls. Just more endless silence. For hours upon hours she had waited for the pin to drop, but even in this unnerving tranquility the tell-tale ping never came. At some point she had felt hunger and for a few minutes she had been able to focus on memories of her last meal before setting out for her disastrous mission. Then a tray had slid out of a port in the wall carrying a simple meal of plain wheat bread and jerky strips, the first sign in forever that someone even acknowledged she existed.

At first Taiyou did not dare touch the meal, certain that it contained some sort of poison meant to destroy her will to resist or some other similar plot. But as the hours passed her hunger grew stronger and stronger, not at all helped by the fact that the food was literally the only thing to look at save for the tiny cot she sat on and the waterless bowl in the corner masquerading as a toilet. Finally, after an indeterminable amount of brooding hours, she gave in to her bodily needs, reasoning that she would need her strength to resist her captors most effectively. The food had been adequate, as bland and flavorless as possible while still providing the necessary nutrients for her to survive. Once again she waited, this time for the first hint of the inevitable signs of mental disruption or worse. But to her relief and mild disappointment nothing happened other than the disappearance of her hunger and the resumption of absolute nothingness.

Her existence had continued in this way for more time than she could truly recall or track. There was no window to mark the coming and going of the Sun, no clock to follow humanity's artificial timekeeping. Even the meals came at irregular intervals, each time eroding her suspicions with their lack of additional chemicals of any kind. Her sense of time was so far gone that her three days estimate was little more than a wild ass guess, despite being one of the few things she could focus on at all. The food was too boring to contemplate for longer than it took to eat. The room was empty of anything that could be misconstrued as interesting, something her attempts to find a way out – or even how she had even been put in – had shown very clearly. There was nothing to occupy her, no promise of activity. At this point she almost wanted to be questioned or tortured just to have something to do. Taiyou was stuck sitting in this damnable silence, trying desperately to find something, anything to do. But the outside world denied her that, leaving her mind nowhere to go but inward.

Introspection was an activity that Taiyou avoided desperately whenever possible. It was a waste of time and energy that could better put to use saving the Earth from the plight of humanity, a goal she had dedicated herself to years ago. That was what she told herself at least. The real reason was that the depths of her consciousness frightened her in ways few other things could. Dark imaginings, twisted memories, half-forgotten terrors of a long lost childhood. Much of her telepathy training had been spent learning to suppress these weak thoughts so she could focus on the future she was working to bring about, but its effectiveness hinged on Taiyou's ability to actively work on that future. Here in this blank abyss she had nothing, allowing her traitorous mind to fill in the blanks with things best left forgotten.

She could feel it coming back again, that recurring nightmare that plagued her at every opportunity. Taiyou snapped her eyes shut and squeezed her hands hard on her cot, trying to push away the images with sheer force of will. It was to no avail though as the memory of sweeping darkness enveloped her mind.

Nothing was visible around her, the underlying quiet taking on a menacing presence of its own accord. Blind, Taiyou stumbled about in the dark, feeling the rough and uneven ground through her shoes. It seemed like she was searching for something, but what it was she could not recall. Suddenly the oppressive black disappeared for a second, an overwhelming flash of light sending it scurrying away. Instinct forced Taiyou to look towards the source, catching a brief glimpse of a boxy mass rumbling forward at a breakneck pace. Soon more flashes appeared all around her as more and more of the objects rolled past, ear-shattering booms echoing from them each time their lights appeared. She watched them as they went, then looked up to see the night sky beyond them catch fire. A looming shade moved slowly through the orange background far away, small bursts of bright orange appearing periodically all across its visage.

A feeling of trepidation filled Taiyou as she watched the spectacle, her feet carrying her backwards unconsciously. The repeated crunches of her shoes on gravel and glass continued for several moments, until one of her steps fell upon a different kind of surface. Taiyou toppled backwards in surprise, grunting when she contacted a fallen wood wall. The firestorm in the distance had lifted the darkness enough for the ground around her to be visible, letting her get a glimpse of what she had stepped upon. Her eyes widened, desperately trying to deny what her eyes were showing her. No… that's…

---

Miki Saegusa tried her best to contain her nervousness as she got ever closer to her self-assigned task. The hallway she traversed was little used, small piles of dust gathered in the corners and the flaking paint on the walls showing clear signs of its neglect. The prison wing of Shatterdome was very rarely needed, usually acting as a temporary holding place for dangerous hybrids or telepaths before they could be collected and transported to more secure, purpose built facilities far away from civilization. Indeed, to Miki's knowledge no one had actually been kept here for several years. She didn't know if that fact was simply because the GDF hadn't been forced to fight such opponents as much in recent times, or because the number of enemies willing to die rather than be captured was on the rise. She shuddered at the second possibility, wondering how such people could be deluded so badly.

"Are you okay Miss Saegusa?" Pat asked, a concerned look on his face.

Miki looked back at the guard and smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Mr. Paterson. I'm fine."

Pat didn't look convinced. "Are you sure you want to be alone with her? I could stand by in the corner if you need me."

The telepath shook her head in answer. "No. Having you there would force me to split my concentration to protect us both. Better I go in there alone."

"But what if she tries something?" Pat objected, no doubt remembering the terrorist's sneak attack back at the launch pad.

Miki's smile morphed into a confident smirk. "I'm not worried about that. I got a very good measure of her abilities three days ago. Her telekinesis won't be a threat." The smile faded as she remembered her prior concerns. "It's what's in her mind that worries me."

Pat thought this over and nodded. "Alright. You're the expert miss." Both paused as they arrived at the door housing the captured telepath. Pat waved to the wall and said, "I'll be just outside if you need me."

Miki nodded then turned to face the barely visible door in front of her. To her right Pat flipped down a small keyboard from a port in the wall and typed in the access code for the door. With a muted hiss the wall slid upward, allowing Miki entrance to the cell. As she walked in Miki's eyes were instantly drawn to the only source of color in the room, the black of the other telepath's mussed mission outfit contrasting sharply with the harsh white of the cell walls. To her surprise the woman did not seem to notice her entrance, her eyes being pointed down at her feet. A closer examination showed that the woman's muscles were all tensed, her hands clenching the cot so hard Miki thought it would be torn apart.

The woman was trapped within her memory, reliving some horrible experience in her past that had deeply marked her psyche. Miki recognized the state from her own training years ago. A telepath's greatly enhanced access to the mind could lead to some getting lost within themselves or others, a much more dangerous version of the rabbit chasing drift partners sometimes suffered. Part of her wanted to rush forward and try to help the woman, her own experiences of falling within her memory being terrible in their own right, but the rest of her remembered that this woman had been in the process of trying to wipe out millions of people. She hovered in place for a moment, debating what to do, but finally decided to stick with the safe option and stay back. Instead she loudly cleared her throat, hoping the noise would be enough to startle the woman out of her reverie. Oddly enough the noise garnered no reaction, prompting Miki's eyes to widen in concern. Just how powerful is this memory of hers? Finally she decided she had to be more direct, reaching out with a mental tendril to hopefully drag the woman back to full consciousness.

The instant her probe touched the outer layers of the woman's mind Miki felt herself drawn into the memory, her attempts to resist and remind outside brushed away without effort. I've never seen a memory this strong before. This can't be natural! After arriving within the memory the landscape began to form around her and Miki recognized the familiar sight of a kaiju battleground. Smashed houses were everywhere while deep tracks from military vehicles covered the streets and any open pathway available. The distance sounds of combat could be heard in the direction of a huge firestorm, the blaze of the flames providing enough visibility for Miki to walk by. She looked back and forth, straining to see the subject of the memory she was in. A glance down the street showed her a half demolished home, the wreck of a destroyed tank half buried in the debris of the collapsed roof. Looking closer Miki spotted a small girl with long dark hair huddled on the group dragging at something she could not see clearly.

Oh no, she thought, the similarity of the image to her own past striking at her like a thunderbolt. She rushed forward as quickly as she could, all thought of the woman's current actions utterly forgotten. Before she could arrive though a group of darkly dressed people showed up around the girl. They seemed to take stock of the situation in a moment and acted before Miki could reach them, grabbing the girl and dragging her kicking and screaming away from the body on the ground. "Stop!" she screamed, but her voice was drowned out by a sudden increase in the combat behind her. She ignored the military's attempts to fell the monster, her only focus being rescuing the girl in front of her. Then the sky lit up in a massive fireball and everything faded away.

When Miki's eyes reopened she found herself staggered against the wall, her head pounding from the aftereffects of the end of the memory. She shook her head, standing up straight as she did and trying to process what she had seen. There was much more going on with this woman than Miki had suspected, much of it worse than she had anticipated. Taiyou, she thought with a start. That was her name. When she managed to look up again she saw that Taiyou was staring at her, a look of the most intense hatred on her face.

"What did you see?" the black haired woman hissed angrily.

Miki quailed for a moment under her gaze then steeled herself and answered, "Only what I needed to."

"You saw nothing," Taiyou practically snarled in retort. "You understand nothing." She turned her gaze away, her hands reclenching in murderous rage.

Miki found herself frozen in place at the ferocity of the woman's tone. Every plan she'd tried to make for this interview had flown right out the window the moment she'd stepped in the room. Guess its back to the basics then. She drew herself up and stated in an even tone, "I am here to interrogate you on any information you have regarding your organization. If you cooperate then you will be placed in a minimum security prison and be given the opportunity to make up for your actions. If you do not cooperate–"

"Save your breath," Taiyou interrupted harshly. "I know what you plan to do to me and I don't care. You'll never get anything from me, no matter what you try." She settled back against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. Her voice lost some of its harshness as she continued, "Might as well just get it over with."

Miki looked down at the woman, a hint of uncertainty plaguing her mind once again. "And just what do you imagine I will be doing to you?"

The woman stared at her incredulously, her anger fading for a moment at the sound of Miki's obvious confusion. "Whatever the hell you want. Break fingers. Smash bones. Electricity, water, fire. I don't care what you do, just get it the fuck over with."

Miki blanched visibly as the woman listed each torture, her composure disappearing completely. "What? No! I… We would never do anything like that. It is completely morally repugnant, not to mention illegal. How could you even think we would do such things?"

"Don't lie to me!" Taiyou yelled. "I know you do! They told me of your atrocities."

Miki narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the other woman. "Who told you? What evidence did they have?"

Taiyou was too caught up in her hatred to control herself and spouted out, "He showed me the pictures, the mutilated bodies you left behind after you'd had your fun! You treated us like playthings to experiment with, just like you do with anyone who opposes you." She stood up, her rage from three days of loneliness releasing itself in this one burst. "The GDF claims to be the protectors of humanity, but humanity is not worth protecting, not after what they have done to this planet! To themselves! The kaiju are the true inheritors of this planet, and they will wipe out our corrupt species."

Miki looked at Taiyou, her hands hanging limply at her sides and mental shields lowered. "Is that truly how you see us?" she whispered. "A blight? A disease whose only cure is death?"

"It is our nature," Taiyou said firmly. "We only know how to destroy. Ourselves, wildlife, the environment. We cause damage to everything around us. The only way to save the world is to remove us from it." The woman's surge of strength faded as she remembered her position. "But my chance at that goal is gone. I'm of no use to the world now, so just kill me quickly and let that be the end of it."

"No."

Taiyou looked up from her despair, anger again coloring her features. "What? Are you not willing to spare me the pain? Are you that determined to break me?"

Miki shook her head in denial and repeated, "No. We will not torture you. That is something we will never do. On that you have my word." Miki punctuated her statement by sending a wave of her feelings into the other woman, the emotions sliding over Taiyou's mental walls and flooding through. Try as she might Taiyou could not deny the sincerity in her visitor's words.

"But… but that…" Taiyou staggered back onto her cot, her mind spinning as she tried to understand. "That can't be true. You must be lying. They said… the pictures…"

"They lied," Miki answered simply and firmly. "The GDF would never commit such acts."

Taiyou sputtered then launched back in denial, saying, "What about the kaiju? You try your best to eradicate them all, even when most of them have never attacked humans except in self-defense."

"That's not true either," Miki responded. "The GDF has only ever acted in defense of itself and humans. The only kaiju we ever actively try to kill are the ones who have proven without a doubt that they want to murder humans for their own enjoyment. We've left the more peaceful kaiju like Godzilla and his allies completely alone when they wanted it, and we've even directly allied with them for our mutual defense."

Taiyou felt her arms drop down onto her cot, her anger sapped by the woman's words and the complete certainty with which she said them. "You… this can't be true." She cradled her head in her arms as she felt her world come crashing down around her. "He said we were the monsters. Said humans were the threat."

Miki's tone softened as she said, "I know humans aren't perfect. We've done rather nasty things in our history, both to ourselves and to the planet, but we've done plenty of beneficial things too. And we don't fight the kaiju because we hate them and want them all dead. We just want to live in peace so we can have a chance to fix our mistakes." She walked forward and sat on the cot next to Taiyou. "We all make mistakes. That's part of being human."

Taiyou snarled and launched herself away. "This isn't a mistake. If… if what you're saying is true, then my lo… they lied to me. About everything. You're telling me that my entire life has been a lie. You can't expect me to just accept that!"

Miki shrugged in sad agreement. "I wouldn't expect that at all. If it were me, I'd probably be breaking down right about now. That you are still cognizant is frankly amazing."

Taiyou huffed where she stood. "Perhaps some benefit came out of… all of that."

"So will you help us?" Miki asked eagerly. "I promise that if you do you'll be set free as soon as possible."

The black-haired woman lifted an eyebrow at her and asked, "Just like that? You have no concern for the soldiers my men injured? Those two chi…" she stopped herself and corrected, "technicians we killed?"

Miki appeared mollified as her memory caught up with her enthusiasm. "Yes, well, I suppose there will be consequences for that. But if you provide enough aide we would be willing to forgive, so long as you show you are properly guilty over the acts."

Taiyou just stared at the woman in shock. She had been certain that bringing up the deaths would have guaranteed the treatment she'd expected, show that this entire thing was just a farce meant to confuse her. But instead this woman was refusing to go back on her word, even offering forgiveness for something that in Taiyou's group would have merited death instantly. It was just so… different from what she had expected. Taiyou wasn't sure what to think anymore. "You're really serious," she muttered unconsciously.

"Of course we are," Miki answered her. "Forgiveness is the right of every sentient being, as long as they are willing to accept it."

Forgiveness, Taiyou pondered behind the walls of her mind. No one has ever offered it before. I never did. Not even to… She shook the thought away and focused on what she was being offered. A second chance at a different life, one that promised a much different outlook than she had been raised with. One she might even be able to live through, rather than be martyred to at the order of her lo… Him.

Taiyou suppressed a shudder at the thought of what He would do if He ever found her considering this. Then she recalled the acts He claimed were truth that had been revealed for their falsehood and made her decision. He lied to me. About our enemy, about our goal. He may have even lied about… her. A grim look of determination appeared on her face. He is not worthy of being followed. Now, I follow my own path.

Taiyou paused for a moment before a self-satisfied smirk appeared on her lips. On that note. "If you think I'm just going to tell you everything now that this… new evidence is apparent then you have another thing coming. You're going to have to prove your conviction to me. Your entire organization, not just you."

Miki nodded, hiding an elated smile at the admission. "That shouldn't be difficult, given what we have in store. And when we do?" she asked curiously.

Taiyou took in a deep breath, realizing the enormity of what she was about to say. If she spoke what was on her mind than there was no going back. Steeling herself with a whispered telepathy exercise Taiyou straightened and said, "Then I will give you the location of my organization and the identity of its leader."

And thus is your treason completed. I had hoped you would be able to resist, but I see my faith in you was misplaced.

Miki all but jumped off the cot and swung her head back and forth in search of the voice. "Who said that? What's going on?"

Taiyou could not answer her for her mind was all consumed by terror. No! This can't be! He can't reach us, not here!

My reach is limitless, foolish human. And you will pay for your desertion.

Taiyou fell to her knees, all sense of resistance fleeing in an instant. She knew there would be no escaping her lord's wrath, no hole deep and dank enough for her to hide from Him. Her life was once again forfeit, and there was nothing she could do to prevent it.

Miki did not think in such terms, banging on the cell door and screaming to Pat outside, "TELEPATH INTRUSSION! LOCK THIS PLACE DOWN NOW!"

Pat had been following the conversation on a view screen next to the control console and sprang immediately into action, typing rapidly. Once his command was entered an electrical field was pumped through conductive grids all around the room, turning the cell into a giant Faraday cage. Telepathic signals, which had close ties to electromagnetism, could not pass through the electric field, either from within or without. Pat watched worriedly as Miki reached down and tried to comfort the prisoner. A check of the power output showed the incoming signal to be totally blocked by the cage, though with a somewhat higher power input requirement than the usual.

Inside the cell Miki laid her hand on Taiyou's shoulder comfortingly, saying, "It's okay. You're safe now. It can't reach us through the field."

Taiyou ignored her and kept shuddering, the after effects of her fear coursing through her. "No I'm not," she denied stutteringly. "I'll never be safe again. Not till He's dead and gone."

"Who is he?"

Taiyou looked up at the other woman, all pretense of haughtiness and pride gone from her face. "His name is Bagan. And He wants to wipe out the human race."

---

Well would you look at that. A new chapter in less than a month. And its a long one too. I think I might be getting the hang of this 'reliability' thing, but don't quote me on that.

Anywho, THE WAR HAS BEGUN! Kinda. Sort off. More like the opening shots at some unaffiliated enemies, but we're on the right track! Next time is a much less conventional fight. (Hint: some of you might want to go watch Godzilla vs Megaguirus). Also holy crap is Taiyou messed up. Good luck redeeming that much crazy Miki. I do not envy you right now. She might wanna consult with someone who has a lot of experience with friendship (Cough, Faust, unconvincing cough). Sorry bout that. Allergies, mate. What can you do? Till next time!