RM Vol 3: For a World without Boundary – Chapter 43-2: Gunboat Diplomacy (Part 2)

RM Vol 3: For a World without Boundary – Chapter 43-2: Gunboat Diplomacy (Part 2)

*Knock* *Knock*

"Please, come in." Kallen said while sitting by the bedside, holding up Natasha's hand to give her the comfort she needed.

With a gentle push, the door leading inside the Crusaders' allotted quarter swung open, revealing Yuki who stepped inside. "I came as soon as I heard the news." The Belkan Marshal said, moving to close the door before resting her back on it, crossing her arms beneath her breasts in the process. Right now, they're on the aircraft carrier Yggdrasil of the 1st Carrier Strike Group. The heavily armed Strike Group is poised to support the military operation that is bound to happen soon.

"How was she?"

Kallen frowns sadly, remembering the moment when Natasha dove into her with her very being exuding a despondent aura. "Bad. Natasha had her periods of ups and downs before, even when we were in Spain. But to see thousands of them being used in such a way? To see the kids she used to take care of being the victims of... Of humanity's hubris!?" Kallen went heatedly on the last sentence before toning it down with a bit of an effort and a grimace. "Countless were sacrificed and countless more will be slaughtered to create beings like us in the name of what? The Lord? If there exists God, why would he allow such madness when others were punished!"

"Because Yahweh is dead." Yuki answered as if spouting the obvious. "And it's people like them that killed her."

Kallen looks at Yuki and sees the latter's calm demeanor. The Crusader then comments, her eyes still a bit red due to her shedding mournful tears before Yuki arrived. "Right, your religion preaches about that matter before. You gonna come and ask us to go to your church?" That came out a bit more harshly than Kallen intended, making her flinch.

Yuki shrugs, thankfully not minding her severe wordings. "I think the last thing you need to talk about is the matter of faith. For now, though, I suggest you and Natasha try to rest up for a week or so. Get your bearings back before deciding on your next move. I can have a plane carry you back to Spain if you feel like it?"

Kallen shakes her head, offering her thanks. "Thank you, but I think I will wait till Natasha wakes up before deciding on anything. With her mind exhausted like this, it will be a while till she can recover though..."

Yuki smiles gently in reassurance. "Don't worry, Kallen, you're not intruding on my hospitality."

Kallen forces out a smile of relief before tentatively asking. "Ehm... Yuki, with this information, what will you do about it?"

Hearing that, Yuki ponders for a bit before giving Kallen the answer.

"As a Marshal, I must prioritize taking out Sardegna's means of creating supersoldiers like you. Vilifying the Papacy, which has been a tiny thorn at most for Belka, thus making the entire world dead set against the religious state, is just an added bonus among many. But as a human being? I will do everything it takes to grant merciless judgment to whoever participates in those vile acts. Victims will be rescued and Belka, together with other factions, will work toward granting them asylum. Either way, by the end of next January, Sardegna as you know won't exist anymore. The state will be disintegrated by other powers if nothing goes wrong."

Kallen sighs in sadness. "So this is the end for the country of God, supposedly. I spent half my life, fighting not just for myself, but also for a course that had been demonized into the very thing I sought to destroy. How stupid of me, as an S-ranked supersoldier, to fail to see the rotten nature of my home. I have failed not just Natasha and my battle sisters but also the entire world."

"You are a Saint, Kallen, for not just Natasha but also your sisters and many others." Yuki spoke up with a shake of her head. "But you are not a Saint of an entire world. You have no duty nor obligation to bear the weight of the planet on your shoulders. Yes, you may have your shortcomings, just like Natasha, just like me, not to mention countless others. No one is perfect, Kallen, and if those shortcomings result in something we disagree with, well, all sentient beings have the right to remedy that."

Kallen stays silent. Though she has listened to the advice, she doesn't know how to make sense of it just yet. The lady is basically too good for her own good. Being confronted with the dark side of her home country has led her thoughts into a downward spiral, much like Natasha by her side. But at least the latter is graced with the blessing of being unconscious, Kallen doesn't have that luck.

Following their point man to the potential Drop Zone, which is an unplanted wheat farm, the Pathfinders seek to avoid contact whenever they can, laying low on the ground or behind cover whenever a vehicle with its light on drives past them in haste. It seems like whatever the B-40s are bombing right now has caused an increase in vehicular activity, both civilian and military alike. Luckily for the Pathfinders, the wheat farm is far away from the main roads with only a traveled dirt path which is now frozen in winter. It takes them about twenty minutes to get to the farm. With a timetable to keep, these Pathfinders set out to secure the farm perimeter and ascertain the condition of the DZ. The latter is swiftly deemed suitable and equipment is deployed to guide the transport planes airdrop both soldiers and war materials. The former, however, runs into a surprising snag.

"Captain, we got four EIs moving up the path."

The Captain stops before making his way silently onto the farm's low wall. The man idly noted that the wall would have been inadequate to stop any form of demons. Perhaps it's why it was abandoned before they arrived. "Patrol?" The Captain asked the markswoman of the team, a Wood Elf and one of the better ones at that.

Adjusting the scope of her PSG1, the markswoman replies. "Doesn't seem like it. It seems they're running away from the cold, the snow is not helping them either." As an elven Ranger and a Pathfinder, the woman can see in the dark just fine without the aid of a night vision device. However, it's still given to her to allow the ability to see IR laser and strobes. "You want me to take the shot or you would like to get down there and dirty?"

"Synchronize our shots." The Captain said, lying down next to the markswoman before speaking through short-range radio waves. "Schultz? Kamov?"

"We got eyes on them all, Cap. Take your pick."

Training his battle rifle down range, the Captain turns on the IR laser module attached to the right Picatinny rail of his weapon. He paints the target of his choosing and so does the elven markswoman. On the other wall to their left, the Pathfinders named Schultz and Kamov paint their own too. With all the lasers aimed at the approaching Sardegnians without them knowing, the Captain starts the countdown.

"3...2...1."

With simultaneous trigger pulls, 8mm Mauser bullets are fired, the shots suppressed and inaudible by anything outside the farm. Striking true on their targets which are the heads, the bullets eviscerated the brains of their enemy, cutting them down like puppets losing their strings. A bit of noise can be heard as the guns and lamps are dropped to the ground alongside their owners. However, the brief commotion is swiftly covered up due to the snowy conditions with a bit of wind.

The four shooters still maintain their sights on the downed targets, searching for any further movement. After a moment, the markswoman moves her sniper rifle away, scanning for any more contact coming up their front.

"... Clear."

"Clear."

"Clear over here."

"Schultz, Kamov, pick two others and go hide the corpses. We have a good position to provide overwatch for you."

"Roger that Cap."

After a minute, a four-man team of the Pathfinders move out with their guns raised. They approach the corpses with two providing security while the others start dragging the carcasses away alongside their dropped equipment. Once they're done, it's like the Sardegnians never existed on that spot, bleeding out of their heads.

By the time the Pathfinders receive the notification that the first wave of transports is inbound, not a single soul has approached the abandoned farm, albeit they could sometimes see motor vehicles moving in the far distance.