Terribly new! - 26

Aqua's POV

1400 Pearl harbor, City's coast

Phase 2 is complete. Having half the capability of an MCV helps a lot. Right now, I'm on the cliff as the last Avalon laser turret comes online. It's technically closer to my base than the city's coast, that's for sure. Now I just need shield generators for smaller areas like choke points, and I can create perfect defenses.

(Author's note: I cross-referenced Google Maps, and it resulted in a lot of inconsistencies between the Pearl Harbor base design from Red Alert 2: MO verse and the real-world map. I tried to get it as close to the real-world map as possible.)

Anyway, that's it for today! As I look at the 3D hologram map, I see the southeastern side of the city, which has docks, is now fully fortified with PD turrets and wall bunkers along the coast, stretching to the southern tip. The harbor has been removed and rebuilt. Six missile bunkers guard the channel leading to the main docks. I even dug the channel deeper and fortify it with titanium alloy wall along the channels, protected with PD turrets at the bottom. No Epsilon subs will get through without being shredded.

As for the western coastline, it's basically the same design, just copied over. There's not much difference—just more PD turrets, missile bunkers, and sensor towers since there's no existing dock to block the way.

Moving inland, there's that land point that juts out after entering the bay... can't remember its name.

(Author's note: It's called Waipiʻo Point, but Aqua wouldn't know that since I had to Google it to even know its name.)

The point doesn't have wall bunkers for barricades, but it does have a wall of PD turrets. Inland, a few meters back, there are artillery bunkers stretching across the point, layered with PD turrets and missile turrets further in. Five Avalon laser turrets have angles on the Pearl Harbor channel entrance and anything that lands on both sides of the channel.

All the peninsulas are surrounded by PD turrets and wall bunkers. No invasion force without air supremacy will be able to land here.

For the lone island in the bay, I'll leave it empty for now, but I've got plans to install a railgun launcher there. I might need to reshape the island, but that can be done later. I'm not about to build a railgun launcher or Aegis shield generator outside my protective walls of the bay—that's just plain stupid. Kind of like the USA of this timeline, which has only one ICBM silo across the whole country—somewhere in California? Yeah, I can't remember the base name but that where their store their 'Peacekeeper ICBM'.

On the west side of the island, Hestia created a kill zone along the coast and cliffs with so many overlapping firing solutions from all the PD turrets. To be fair, one shot is more than enough to shred infantry and most lightly armored vehicles. The only units that might withstand it are those weird Siren ships and Suppressor units from the Pacific Front.

They have negation shields, which could counter my weapons by reversing it to healing instead of damaging. I shake my head as I feel someone patting it. I look up to see Amy.

"You're thinking something negative again, aren't you?" Amy says with a smile, rubbing my head a bit more. I'm not a dog... but fine. I let her continue while I look over at the northern front.

The north side is kind of boring—just coastline and beaches. I've added PD turrets and underground wall bunkers that can rise from the ground. It's got more defenses since there are fewer civilian houses in the area.

The eastern side gets similar treatment, but there's an Allied base taking up space on a peninsula. It's not much of a problem, just annoying for planning. I built checkpoints and bunker walls like a Maginot Line there. As I look through the fortifications, a voice comes through my comms.

("Commander, the Hammerhead sisters are en route with 15 combat T-Dolls and 5 support T-Dolls. We're about to launch from the main base.") Terra reports. I sent her back to the main base yesterday to produce 20 T-Dolls and transfer them here. It's also a test for the drop pod method—reverse style—shooting them upward through deep ocean to thousand meters above surface.

("Thanks, Terra.") I respond, thinking about the Hammerhead sisters—dropships. Those girls are the closest thing to spaceships I have right now. They named themselves 'Fury' and 'Joy.' I don't know why, but it kind of makes sense.

I've also got the Raptor sisters back at the main base. They wrecked the simulator there. It's fixed now, but I've forbidden them from using it again.

Anyway, the T-Dolls will arrive in about five minutes, so—

"Miss!" I turn to see a panicked Allied soldier running toward me, Amy already holding an Uzi in her hand.

"Soldi—" I begin to ask what happened, but he interrupts.

"The war has begun!" he screams.

I rub my forehead. Great. My meddling caused the war to start five years early? "Where is the Russian invasion fleet heading?" I ask. What else can I do? The Peacekeeper ICBM is probably neutralized by Epsilon already. Even if it's not, it'll take hours to send the Raptors, which is enough time for Epsilon to finish the job.

Japan..." the soldier said as I tilted my head. Okay... so the Pacific Front did something to draw the full might of the Russian Empire. "Is your commander still in your base MCV?" I asked. He nodded. "I'll contact him then," I said as I established a direct connection to his MCV.

("What's this about Japan's invasion?") I asked through the comm, which was probably set to speaker mode inside his command room.

("Your intel is correct, and we found MIDAS,") a voice replied. Was that the Pacific Front general? I probably join during call between general and commander.

("Let me guess—you stole MIDAS and jump-started the war?") I asked. That seemed like the only logical cause for the conflict.

("Yes, unfortunately. The deal with your factions will need to change since the five-year timeline is off," the general admitted.) I shook my head at the mess they created.

("Have your American allies come to help yet?") I asked.

("In two weeks' time.") The response came quickly. So, they were in transit.

("By any chance, have you encountered mind control?") I pressed.

("Yes,") came a short but serious reply.

("So Yuri is active... The Peacekeeper ICBM has probably already been neutralized, right?") I asked.

("How do you know about that?") The general's tone shifted, sounding slightly enraged.

("Long story short—Abyssal units like us are an outside-context problem, and Yuri is a time traveler,") I explained.

("Time travel?! Don't be ridiculous!") the general snapped in disbelief.

("Just ask Siegfried about his mentor's research. If Einstein still existed, you'd have time travel by now instead of having Paradox engine.") I heard a gasp from the comm, but I wasn't sure who it came from. I decided to steer the conversation back on track.

("Anyway, back to the topic—I can help you with your war.")

("What do you want?") the general asked, his tone shifting into negotiation mode.

("Do you have some kind of mercenary contract?") I asked. He didn't respond, so I shook my head. Even if they had one, it probably wouldn't suit what I had in mind. ("Never mind that. Give us tech, and we'll help with your war effort.")

("What do you really want?!") the general barked, louder this time.

("Chrono tech—any kind is fine. Your miners use it, your Legionnaires use it, and the Chronosphere uses it. At least 30% of your tech base relies on it. Send any of that and then name your price for the said tech.")

(Author's Note: Chrono tech has existed since WWII in the Red Alert universe. It saw widespread use, enabling even basic harvesters to teleport. More advanced versions were slowly developed by SteinsTech.)

("You'll get harvesters from the MIDAS intel. As for the Chronosphere... Repel the invasion of Japan, and we'll talk.") The general's answer was reasonable.

("Very well then.") I grinned wickedly, glancing at Amy and Helena. "We're about to have some fun," I said as the soldier who delivered the message quickly retreated.

I shook my head and reconnected to the main base.

("Hello, everyone. This is Aqua speaking. We are entering proper war preparation phase. Barracks will now produce 100 T-Dolls for each base, along with two MCVs for each location from this moment onward. The main base shall remain hidden. Raptor sisters, comm me for deployment orders.")

("Raptor sisters, reporting in!") I heard two voices chime in unison as I switched over to them.

("Earlier today, Japan was invaded by a Russian landing fleet. Intel is limited, but your mission is to repel the fleets blockage the coast of Japan starting from Tokyo. Switch IFF signals to Abyssal. I'll get clearance from their general. Backup will follow after you clear the scene. Good luck and have fun.") I signed off, looking at Amy and Helena. "Let's head to the dock," I said as we moved toward Pearl Harbor.

("Fury, Joy.") I connected to the two Hammerhead dropship girls.

("Yes, Commander?") Joy answered in her usual upbeat tone.

("We've got a situation. After delivering this batch of T-Dolls to the Pearl base, hitch a ride from one of the MCV girls back to the main base to gather more T-Dolls. This time, deliver them to Japan. Raptors will clear the LZ. Further briefing will happen once I gather more intel.") I switched over to Rupture, who was likely stationed at the dorms.

("Rupture, gather your team. We've got a mission to execute.") I sent her the planned route to Japan.

("Yes, Commander!") she replied as we reached the water. I activated my rigging, and both Amy and Helena stepped inside, their bodies vanishing into it.

"I can't believe we get to fight this early on!" Helena said from within me as I dove into the water. My turrets tracked my position before turning away. It felt like overkill with four overlapping point-defense turret ranges where I was—not even counting missiles and the Avalon laser.

"Aqua-chan, we're ready!" Amy said, sounding hyped. Honestly, so was I.

("Terra, guard the Pearl base.") I said to Terra through the com.

("Affirmative,") Terra replied in her usual monotone.

Raptor sister's POV

"First!" I shouted as I jumped into the drop pod that had just opened. My sister quickly squeezed in behind me.

"Ouch..." I groaned as she rammed into me afterward.

"Scoot over a bit," she said, and I complied. Neither of us had names yet... but we would soon.

"So, the deal's still on?" I asked.

"Obviously," my sister replied confidently. "Whoever gets the most kills will earn the name 'Raptor,'" she added. I nodded, feeling pumped. Her expression mirrored my excitement.

[Drop pod payload confirmed. Launch in T-minus 5 seconds,] the automated voice announced.

Final checks—resources, weapons, and systems—done. I changed my hair color to red as it feel more exciting this way, while my sister went with black.

[Launching!] The pod fired upward. My adrenaline surged. Wait—how do I even have adrenaline? Aren't we Striker Witches bloodless?

I shook off the thought and prepped my thrusters. The sound of the drop pod breaching the water echoed.

Boom!

[Deploying!] The pod split apart, its shell ejecting outward. I willed my thruster legs to propel me heading northwest toward Japan. My sister flew beside me, and we climbed to 9,000 meters, breaking the sound barrier.

("How about a race?") she commed me.

("Sure—it's a two-hour flight anyway.") I sped up, cruising at Mach 2.5.

Fury's POV

"Thanks for delivering us, Fury!" Pama waved as she walked away.

"No problem," I replied, waiting for the MCV submarine to pick me up for another T-Doll run to Japan. I watched the T-Dolls disperse—some patrolled the city, while others secured key areas. Terra and the Commander's crew headed directly to the residential zones.

Joy sat near the dock's edge, dipping her legs into the water. I scanned the area—plenty of anti-ground, sea, and air turrets. Good defenses overall.

"Girls, over here!" I spotted a girl—likely an MCV—waving at us. Joy and I approached her.

"Hello," I greeted.

"Come on, get in. We can talk while we travel," she said, summoning her rigging. We stepped inside her ship.

"Exciting, isn't it?" the MCV asked.

"Yeah," I admitted. Combat couldn't come soon enough.

"Oh, sorry! My name's Alaya. Nice to meet you girls," Alaya said. "Say hi to my crew—they're already setting up the war map." as I heard the noise from common area inside the ship as I walk toward them along with Joy.

This ride wasn't going to be boring after all.