Grim And Colorful

 Akasaka Press Center, Minato, Tokyo.

Another day, another day at the office. A place trapped in the monotony of its gray walls and neatly stacked file folders and the computer on. The only thing out of place in this whole room was the framed photograph on my desk. In it were a bunch of girls as unique as they were different smiling at the camera, a nice souvenir that reminds me of what lies beyond when I return home. But I must not get distracted in my work, because today I have an important meeting with someone. Although there's still a little while before he arrives, so I'm making the most of the time to get ahead on other things like review some documents. There is the sound of the television set playing the news in the background.

"Following the Alliance leaders' meeting on Korea, public institutions have issued several statements on security guarantees for all members, as well as by private security and technology industry such as Saber Lion."
"Another such statement was made yesterday, in which the president of the I.S.C. once again emphasized his position on being focused on global security."
"Damien Raven indicated that his company is focusing much of its efforts on collaborations with various defense ministries around the world."
"Its armaments are widely known to Alliance member countries."
"But as Damien Raven himself mentioned: "something as important as security should be available to everyone"
"Right after that, he announced his second generation of Walkers, something quite unusual considering that only have passed a couple of weeks since, the reveal of the old model, although little changed, was available for the first time."
"The new model, although with few changes visible to the naked eye, is much more stable and robust."
"But its main feature is the enormous reduction in cost."
"The current price is so attractive that only today several African countries such as Congo and Libya have already announced the purchase of several of these vehicles to support their national security in the face of the growing threat of dissidents of the Empire."
"And these Walkers seem to be a great option among countries with low budgets, with which they finally have a real option to at least defend their homes from an invader that seems to be able to appear anywhere and at any time"
"Where even world powers such as the United States have suffered devastating attacks and watch as this so-called "phantom army" disappears without leaving any trace of its existence other than the destruction it leaves behind."
"If countries with a strong military presence like them are not safe, what options can the needy have?"
"What options can the needy have?"
"Walkers seem to be the only real option for some."

"Now, in more hopeful news, but still centered around technology"
"China has just announced the completion of its new city of the future."
"The city of Chenggong district has been completely rebuilt almost from scratch to create the city of the near future."
"Built mainly in white colors and careful minimalist design, it changes beautifully at night when lights and projectors take hostage the walls to display a beautiful visual fantasy landscape."
"The automated city as described by its architects is created so that the public infrastructure part is managed and operated by powerful Artificial Intelligence called "TianHui", which translates as Celestial Wisdom."
"The most powerful Artificial Intelligence created to date, and which aims to demonstrate how to make the city a truly connected place, from the timetable of public transport to the security with the dispatch of emergency response units."
"The local authorities want to demonstrate with their project that it is time to rely more on technology and its advances."
"Some others describe it as just a vanity project and call it the Ghost City or the new city for the ultra-rich."
"It is claimed that the city is populated by less than 15% of its capacity, where most of its buildings are empty despite the impressive light shows that take place at night."
"Some even claim that basic necessities must be brought in from other nearby cities, as the city does not have a local market or any form of food distribution for the middle class, with the city's poorest residents having to travel up to almost 2 hours out of town just to access the nearest supermarket, as outside of the luxury offices and fine dining restaurants there is no one selling food to prepare in the comfort of home."
"A more moderate section draws attention to the strange lack of more green spaces, as it seems that from the central plaza, the only others that have access to places with access to nature are the mansions in the more expensive price range."
"The same places that seem to be the only places where people can really live comfortably in this place."
"The government has not yet responded in any way to these statements.

Over the office phone, I hear that my visitor has just arrived, so I turn off the TV and set up my desk, unfortunately, I have to put the family photo in a drawer, I don't want to have to explain why I'm in the middle of what seems to be a costume contest. I must project an image of strength, as my meeting is with Senator Hiroshi Yoshida. Someone quite important in Japan's National Diet, someone from a family with a long political and military career. He lost one of his grandfathers in the battle of Iwo Jima, the other did not surrender until 4 years after the war end, his father was also a politician of high caliber and with a long career defending Japan's interests against the Soviets working with the Public Security Agency. Senator Yoshida comes from a family that will stop at nothing to defend Japan. He himself served in the JSDF for years, then began his career in law enforcement as a municipal councilman all the way up to his current position. He is even a personal friend of the Prime Minister, while some others call him the guardian of Japan, the only reason he is not the defense minister is that he is smart enough not to be directly under the spotlight so as not to be splashed in case of a failure, this man know and play my game.

The door opens and I see the man in question, a man with white hair, but his musculature still retains much of his past as a warrior, his eyes quickly scanned the room, it seemed that he wanted to quickly get some clue about my personality. I for my part did not care, I would let it pass like a bona fide whistle, after all, today he was talking to me because I had already won. He was the one who had to give in and come to me to accept Japan's integration as a member of the Alliance.

"Good morning, Mrs. Adelis"
"How are you? I hope you are well."

"Hello Senator Yoshida"
"Yes, I am fine, thank you very much."
"I have been informed that the reason for your visit is to give you more information to the Japanese Government regarding the points agreed upon at the Korean meeting."

"Yes, that is correct."
"Although we also attended, we were not able to participate fully due to the busyness of the meeting."
"I was told that you would give us more information on the movements of the Alliance globally."

"That's right, since I live around here the others decided that I would be in charge of informing your government."
"I am very sorry for the delay but a recent relative of mine was in the hospital, so I had an emergency that was really important for me to attend."
"But things are much better now, so without further ado, I will begin"

"Please feel free to"
"But before we start, do you happen to have the printed information available?"

"Yes, of course, In this folder is everything in more detail, please review it when you have time later."
"...."
"Okay, the first and I think the most important part is that the Alliance High Command, in the meeting held in Korea, has decided to create a collaborative effort unprecedented in the world."
"The creation of a new military branch: The Strategic Tactical Army & Rapid Mobilization, or S.T.A.R.S, provisional name for now I should add"
"Currently the greatest present threat is the overwhelming infiltration capability that the remnants of the Empire are capable of"
"The truth is that at this very moment, as we speak, we have no idea where they are located, or how to pursue them."
"The mode of operation of these "Remnants" seems to be to appear by surprise and create a short-lived but very intense raid attack."
"We have no way of knowing what their own target will be or how they will attack."
"...."
"But we in the Alliance cannot stand idly by and watch them attack our member states."
"So for the time being the Rapid Tactical Response Force will be created."
"Its objective will be to counterattack within 5 hours or less of the initial attack on any part of the world that the empire decides to attack in the future."
"To try to recreate the response that the United States made to the attack on New York, but with the intention of protecting others."

"5 hours? The whole world?"
"That's impossible."

"We know, with our current technology it is impossible to make a large army able to move around the world in such a short time."
"But even with these limitations something has to be done."
"Instead of this Rapid Response Force being concentrated in one place, it will be spread out at strategic points around the world, where nearby troops can respond to the invasion within those first 5 hours."

"Split the team? Won't that reduce their effectiveness?"

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"That is correct, but we do not need to win the battle, only not to lose immediately."
"Delay the Empire in the shortest possible time while preparing a larger force to be in charge of the actual assault."
"The empire currently has limited access to resources, they cannot afford to lose material or personnel foolishly."
"Their objectives must be extremely well planned in detail, based primarily on surprise and speed."
"Their attacks are strongly limited in time."
"They can for the moment only attack a place by surprise, destroy or commit their objective, and flee before the real army arrives to defend."
"Their last two attacks were just lucky that the right people were there at the right time."
"That is why our goal is to reduce that initial response time and delay the empire in its objectives."

"But something like this has never been done, not on the scale needed."
"To have an army ready for battle, waiting to raise an offense, at all times."
"Many countries will take it as a strong threat."

"Like being attacked by the Empire at any moment?"
"Today's world is already in chaos even without them."
"We can't afford to take our time just for fear of scaring a neighbor."
"What would have happened if he had attacked in Tokyo instead of Okinawa where both the JSDF and Carrier Strike Group 5 were stationed?"
"Japan as a country would have fallen in less than 10 hours."
"You know that."
"When the U.S. forces arrived from Hawaii they would only find a city in ruins consumed by flames."

"Is anyone else interested in this?"

"Yes, in fact, although it is not yet decided, we already have more or less an idea of how the distribution of the different bases will look like."
"Germany will be the base for the European division."
"Ecuador has offered to host South America."
"Ideally, Kazakhstan should host Central Asia and the Middle East, although this is still under discussion."
"Originally it was going to be Russia, but the internal situation is complicated enough to take any risk"
"The last thing we need is our own troops caught in the middle of a possible civil conflict or rebellion."
"Japan and Hawaii could help maintain the Pacific."
"As for Africa, the situation is different, as there is no consensus whatsoever, since everyone fears that a neighboring country will stay as host and put the others at risk."
"And I think one thing needs to be said about North and Central America."

"You want Japan to be the regional base for this new group?"
"Those are big ambitions, I imagine you know that."
"What do we get in return for all this?"

"Your gain is that maybe the next bomb the empire drops won't hit your house and kill your family, Senator."
"You are the ones who will know if this benefits yourselves or not."
"The bases at Okinawa and Yokota, along with the Carrier Strike Group 5 make a formidable mobile force, we believe that nothing else will be needed around here."

A phone rang, from his pocket Senator Yoshida looked at the number and wiggled one of his eyebrows, it seemed that the call was important enough to need to be answered now. The apologetic man stepped out for a moment to answer, he seemed to talk for a couple of minutes and then returned to tell me that he was now the one who had to attend an urgent meeting, even though I said it was no big deal and that I had already mentioned the most important part.

'Keep us informed, Mrs. Adelis,' he said, his voice filled with a sense of duty.
'We'll need more details, but we also understand the urgency of the situation.'

With a nod of agreement, I watched as he left my office, closing the door behind him. The weight of our discussion lingered in the room, and I knew that much work lay ahead to convince Japan's National Diet of the importance of joining the Alliance's efforts. Leaving my office, I stepped into the bustling city streets. The sun was beginning its descent, casting long shadows that stretched across the pavement. Due to the large amount of work trying to negotiate the creation of this new initiative, I had been working later than usual. My thoughts were filled with the task at hand, knowing that the fate of nations hung in the balance.

On my way back home I heard a rumor in the Army base that in the church there is a new priest coming all the way from Spain. I was thinking maybe I would stop by and say hello, show him that there are people with whom he can also speak his native language in this faraway place and that he can rely on us in case he needs some type of help.

After I stepped through the door of my house a stranger world lay before me. One where the common stories of everyday life were combined with the tales of glory and hardship of legends past. A place where Gods and humans dined together at the same table, where both Angels and Demons lived peacefully helping each other. In this peculiar world I had found a moment of solace, a reminder that amidst the grand plans and global security concerns, the power of a simple conversation and the bond of shared humanity and family could still make a difference. A strange place where the Lord of the house, the girl sitting next to me, was eating quickly using four arms at the same time. It's really amazing to see how he learned so quickly to use his two slime hands when food was involved. But more surprising was to know that that lewd girl over there, worried only about repeating a second plate of food, was also the same being that could end the world with a snap of his fingers if he wanted to, I myself had witnessed how he had ended an entire world in such a short time in order to rescue me. And yet there he was sitting in his chair eating happily, making me feel that in this place I had no power at all, but at the same time, everyone trusted me enough to do something if I asked them to. I was reminded that the world was not such a grim or monotonous place.

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