Yamaku SF

[cpl_crud]

#This is an idea that I had a few weeks back, but I never bothered putting it down on paper.
#After having written it, I can see why. The intro is too long, and the introductions too short, but you can at least get the drift.
#I really just wanted to see Misha in fatuiges and a steel helmet, whislt still sporting the drills. You know, a flight of fantasy.
#also, shitsucks, I spelt Hisao's name wrong one, or twice, or more. Whatever. It's all better now, so cry less, Aura.





They say that your first posting out of the academy defines the rest of your career.
It's a mark of how your instructors gauge your abilities against your peers, and where they think you'll be of the most use.

For that reason, I hold the wax-sealed envelope before me with a genuine trepidation. Once I open it, my fate is essentially sealed.

My ears are still ringing from the frivolities of last nights' graduation, and I'm still not exactly "sober", but this is not something that can be left unattended.

I take a deep breath, and break the red wax. It gives a satisfying 'crack' before falling to the floor in a shower of tiny shards.

"Lieutenant Nakai, you are hereby posted to the Yamaku Special Forces unit. You shall report to Col. Hakamichi before 0900 hours tomorrow, whereupon you will receive further instructions.
"You will be expected to discharge your duties as an army officer under her command until such a time as you are relieved of duty.
"You are not to mention this posting to anyone, under any circumstances.
"Your personal effects will be moved to your new barracks in due course.
"That it all."

My eyes trace over the words again and again, as if waiting for them to mysteriously change before me. But they're still there, each and every time I read them.

"Special Forces"

My hangover is cured, replaced with a boundless energy. I feel like I've won the lottery, married my high-school sweetheart and landed on the moon, all at once. To get a SF posting straight out of the academy is almost unheard of. I must have impressed someone along the way, although I can't explicitly remember doing so.
And I've never even heard of the "Yamaku" unit. It must be one of those super-elite units that you only find out about if you need to.
Maybe they work directly for the Prime Minister?

I glance down at my watch, and cure myself for sleeping in after the party. It's 1300 now. By the time I get myself ready and head to the unit, it'll practically be night time.
But this is no time to dally around, I have to get ready! Where's my razor?

******

The headquarters building of Yamaku looks suspiciously like a university building. I guess it's some kind of camouflage for the unit's real operations. Then again, I don't see anything that resembles anything that you'd see at a normal unit.
Where's the armoury? Where's the parade ground? I know my instructors used to say that the 'real world' was going to be different, but this is just…

"You! Over there! What are you gawking at?!"

A woman's voice rings out from one of the windows high up on the building before me.

"Um, I'm here to see Colonel Hakam…"

"Shut up you idiot! You wanna blow our cover?! Get up here now!"

I can't see the owner of the voice, but I could swear that I saw a flash of pink in that window…

Well, nothing left but to go on up.

******

"Um, I'm looking for Colonel Hakamichi?"

Before me stands a Major, dressed in field fatigues and wearing a steel helmet, which sits crookedly atop her all-too-pink hair. I guess she was the one shouting at me from the window…

"I'm sorry about before. I didn't realise…"

Her stern face falters, and then she doubles over in laughter.

"Whahaha never mind that! I've just always wanted to say that to someone!
"You must be the new guy, Hisao, right? The Colonel's been waiting for you. Follow me."

Still shrieking with laughter, the Major turns about and stumbles up the stairwell.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but I didn't catch your name."

"Ma'am? Oh, just call me Misha. Major Mikado Shiina, if anyone asks. But they don't. So it's just Misha then, understand?"

"Um, I think so, Ma'am…"

The laughing stops, and the Major spins around to glare at me.

"I mean Misha…"

In an instant, her grimace turns into a beaming grin once again.

"I think we're going to get along just fine, Hisao. Here we are, the Colonel's office. Shicchan, we're coming in~!"

Misha throws open the door, revealing a long room with a single desk. Seated at the desk in full ceremonial blues sits the Colonel, her small, square glasses resting on the end of her nose. Her hair, whilst not as extreme as the pink wisps escaping from under Misha's helmet, is definitely not a military standard haircut. I guess that's part of being in the special forces.

However, she is a Colonel, and I am but a Lieutenant, and four years of training take over. I march directly to her desk, halt, and salute.

"First Lieutenant Nakai Hisao reporting for duty, ma'am."

No response.

"I look forward to serving under you, ma'am."

The Colonel simply glares at me over her glasses.
Behind me, I hear a slight titter.

A slight titter that erupts into full-blown laughter.

"Whahaha Hisao! Sorry, but I couldn’t stand it any longer! You look so funny!"

Misha then walks straight past me, puts one hand on the Colonel's shoulder, and whispers into her ear. After a moment's contemplation, the Colonel reciprocates, whispering something to Misha.

"Hicchan! The Colonel welcomes you to the unit and orders me to show you around!"

"Uh, thank you ma'am, Misha"

More whispers.

"Oh, and if you call Shicchan "Ma'am" again she says… well, she says some mean things some times. Just call her Shizune, 'kay?"

"O…kay."

"Come on, let's meet the others."

Misha grabs my hand and drags me out into the hallway.

"So, does the Colonel… I mean, does Shizune not want to talk to me?"

"Eh? Of course she does. What makes you think that?"

"But, back there, she didn't…"

"WHAHAHAHA That's just how she is. She won't talk to you unless she thinks you deserve it."

"And, so far, I'm the only one here that 'deserves' it…"

Misha gives me what I assume to be a "knowing" wink, although I don't quite know what she is getting at.

But I have no time to ruminate, as a split-second later, Misha has thrown open a door marked "Intelligence".

"Lilly! Hanako! You have a visitor!"

The inside of this room is dimly lit, and banks of computers take up nearly all the available floorspace. Though, through the cathode-ray glow, I can make out two figures.
The first is a knockout-blonde in a suit, talking quietly on one phone whilst apparently texting away on another. The other is a striking woman with long black hair, dressed in cut-off jeans and sporting dual holsters. They seem almost non-perturbed by our entrance into their world.

"This here is Lilly, she looks after our intelligence collection. She has contacts everywhere. If you ever need to know anything, just talk to her.
"That over there is Hanako, master of disguise. She also handles a lot of our wet work, so you're probably better off not talking to her too much. Not that she talks that much, but that's just how she is, right, Hana-chan?"

The woman in the corner doesn't respond, but simply unbuttons one of her holsters. Before I get a chance to say a word to either of them, Misha is once again dragging me out into the hallway.

"Time to meet the engineers!"

"Engineers?"

Misha practically kicks in the next door, totally unannounced.

"Rin, Emi, are you home?"

Plans and bits of metal lay scattered on a number of tables, but the room is totally lifeless.

"Tsk. They must be out on the testing grounds…"

"Testing grounds?"

"Oh, I meant running track. What did I say?"

"Er… nevermind…"

Once again, the locomotive-like Misha kicks into gear, and I am dragged back down the stairs, and outside to what looks like a run-of-the-mill running track.

Run-of-the-mill, of course, except for the giant, X-shaped divots trampled in random patterns across it.
Before I can ask where they originate, I feel the ground start to shake.

"Ah, here they come…"

The shaking of the ground becomes rougher, more regular, and I can just make out the "Thump, thump" of metal colliding with the earth.

"These two here are Rin and Emi. Rin's our head engineer, and Emi's our test pilot."

On the other side of the track, I see a metal statue about twice the height of a man, bright green, and bristling with all sorts of angular shapes.

The statue then takes a jolting step towards me, and another…

Before long, I see a small woman in fatigues and a dust coat climbing from the back of the 'mech, apparently shouting something at the pilot. She waves her arms about, sending her short, auburn hair bobbing and weaving.
As the 'mech gest closer, I see an even smaller, younger woman, encased inside the metal structure. She has a happy, yet determined face, but one that is firmly concentrating on the woman shouting orders at her from above.

Concentrating, perhaps, a little too hard…

CRASH

The woman riding the 'mech, Rin, is thrown clear of the topping 'mech before it hits the ground. As the grotesque pile of metal tumbles to the ground, I can see Emi's little face panicking in the cockpit.

"Hmm, I guess removing the gyro to make space for more ammo wasn't the right idea…"

Rin walks away, scratching her head, totally ignoring Misha and myself. And, from the way that the 'mech is clawing at the dirt, it appears that she has totally forgotten about her pilot, too.

"So, that's the team! Whaddaya think?"

Somewhere in the distance, I'm sure that my instructors are now laughing their arses off…

[TheHivemind]

The amusement that I got out of reading this story was IMMENSE.

By which I mean I liked it.

[Silentcook]

Yep, way, waaaay out in left field.
But fun.
...and don't get me started thinking about conversions featuring Misha in a Heer uniform, either.

[Aura]

Best part was ONEESAMA spy network

[delta]

Best part was ONEESAMA spy network

[cpl_crud]

Best part was ONEESAMA spy network

You all know it exists, contrary to wahtever Suriko says :p