A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 38: Interlude: Nori

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 38: Interlude: Nori

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Arksoul

…

Grandfather told me many times to fear the unknown.

“When all we know is nothing about another, then we must tread carefully. If that nothing does its utmost to be nothing, then we are in the presence of a great threat.”

Egress, as he called himself, stood shoulder to shoulder with Maelstrom… but was more like a soldier than one with Talent.

Maelstrom, Kaede Walker, was born to a US officer and a Japanese woman. Born in the United States on its western coast, she enjoyed a middle-class lifestyle with all the privileges afforded by well-established, debt-less parents. Surrounded by good peers, a good family, and private education, she was set all her life to become a beacon of justice the moment her Talent manifested.

With her Talent, she pacified the terrors that ravages the US, stabilizing the hyperpower, and brought forth almost a decade of peace. A decade that allowed Japan to regather itself, focus, and accept the coming loss to prepare for the next battle in a long war. Without her, many would’ve perished, so even when she unveiled the truth and drove the world to crumble, none blamed her. Or, at least, neither my grandfather or I did.

With how she was raised, and with all that she endured, the moment she made the discovery there was no other path forward.

I knew all these things about Maelstrom. That gave me comfort and assurance that she would help us, because that was simply how she was.

Then, there was Egress.

Covered from head to toe in armor, camouflage, and all manner of gadgets, as well as a tinted, pressurized mask with filters and a small oxygen tank, he was undoubtedly a threat. He knew what information to give, he tested me by feigning his accent, and he was plain with his mercenary tendencies. On the surface, everything about him screamed and declared that he was nothing more than an opportunist with great power at his disposal. Nothing more than someone who hid while the world died and arose only for luxuries that were depleted from his stores.

However, as grandfather told me, there was nothing worse than believing the surface of a presented truth.

Egress’s name did not arise from my search on our database, which meant he somehow had them sealed or stricken from record. With the assets that he stated he had, a bunker in the United States, I could only assume that he was treated well by the former hyperpower… and apparently from Japan as well. Though his clothing denoted a sense of paranoia and over-preparedness, I looked past it and saw only a man with complete confidence in his abilities, even in the presence of an unknown Talent such as myself.

He knew the worth of information, thus he erased himself, and only gave information freely to those he trusted.

I needed to watch him.

…

I returned to my ship and sighed in relief as soon as I saw that the energy field around the ship was holding. It and many other forms of ionized fields were determined to be capable of disrupting Talents that manipulated space to reach their destinations. Though we do not yet understand the source of powers, the realm from which it comes is connected enough to be detected, and its ebbs and flows could be guarded against.

My whole crew, for instance, was born and raised in facilities guarded against the energies and so none of them had the same Talent as myself.

Despite being my clones.

“Captain, can you look into the scanner?” One of my clones held up one of grandfather’s designs, a portable brainwave scanner that searched for any foreign energies that manipulated the electro-chemical signals within the mind. I acceded to it with a nod and gazed into it. It beeped twice in quick succession. “Congratulations, captain, the unidentified individual with the two very scary people wasn’t a mind-controller. Would you like to celebrate your survival with a parfait?”

“Maybe later, but there’s work to be done.” I looked over my shoulder and two of my clones began to help me dress in my uniform. The kimono had been a good choice. Kaede Walker had looked upon me with more care and consideration appearing as such. However, Egress and the woman accompanying him were unfazed. “Did she match anything on our database? Related to the last one that was with him, perhaps?”

“None at all! What? Did our super-awesome brain see anything that the computers didn’t?”

My clone teased me and I glared at her. It was 233. It was always 233 who did the teasing. Her impish grin told me she knew that I knew. A passing pair giggled at my expense and scurried along when I glared at them. “C’mon, don’t keep secrets! Give me the details!”

Sometimes, I wished that I didn’t fight for them to have so much leeway, but the advantages during operations were obvious. Clones that were under stricter rules couldn’t act as freely under pressure and they took far more casualties as a result. Independence and freedom were a double-edged sword, but the benefits definitely outweighed the drawbacks.

“It’s just a sensation. I believe she’s some form of non-identical clone, or a shapeshifter. She stood and watched the same way as the translator did, despite being a different person” The other one had seemed to be of Japanese descent, but the new one seemed closer to Polynesian or even Malaysian. The intellect behind the eyes had a certain similarity, but there was a difference behind it too. “Perhaps, it might even be some sort of consciousness that inhabits other bodies… no, Kaede Walker wouldn’t work with such a person.”

“Got it, keep an eye on the babes that the American has right next to him.”

I rolled my eyes. That one was easy.

“Even you can tell that Egress is hardly interested. He has more interest in Maelstrom, and that’s merely because he’s a man and she a woman. You might be a clone, but you can most certainly tell that man is holding himself back.”

“Oof, angry at being looked at like a kid, captain?”

“We are both, technically children.”

223 pointed and I gave my thanks to those who finished helping me dress and get the kimono properly stored.

“The concern he had for us is obvious. Despite being a mercenary of some renown, and a self-proclaimed black budget transporter, it’s obvious his concerns about having children fight and lead were true.” If not, Egress would’ve seen fit to take advantage of us and betray us at the critical moment for his own gain. I walked with my clone towards the bridge, while the drones that provided tactical read outs followed us. They briefed me more quickly than my officers could and left my officers with better things to do with their time. “That man will not be swayed by seduction. He’ll most certainly run away if confronted with even a specialist in the act.”

“Got it. No need to feel bad about being kid-zoned. Nice.”

“No need to feel bad about an older man being decent.” I corrected my clone, who actually took in the seriousness of my tone this time, and just nodded. That was enough of that particular conversation. The fact that Egress looked at me like a child and wasn’t attracted to me was a plus in my book. “Has there been word from the main base about the neutral zone that Egress has offered to construct?”

“Yeah, the big wigs agreed. Why wouldn’t they? It keeps most of them safe, while the rest can keep twiddling their thumbs and musing about the good ole days.”

“223.”

“I mean, it’ll keep the nation safe and sound, so they’ll naturally take the offer.”

“Better.”

I sighed and let the door to the bridge open. Even with the size of the ship, it remained a submersible, so space was a valued commodity. Moving around always threatened shoulders brushing against one another. Seats almost always had to be fully pushed in, even with someone seated, and screens strained the eyes. Hologram emitters and drones were a cherished commodity for the convenience they provided.

In the safety of my bridge, its many layers of soundproofing, and the fact that I had it cleaned of bugs regularly, I let loose a sigh of relief.

“That big of a deal, huh, boss?”

“You can’t imagine. This is what Japan needs. Foreign support to turn the tide and retake the homeland. We had plans with our existing assets, but it would’ve been far too bloody and prolonged.” Even a single season of constant fighting would threaten the food supply and invite famine. Not only that, but the profiles of our foes all suggested that they would be more than happy to hold the food hostage and therefore the population too. “The fact that we can ship in food from the western coast of the continent of North America will make it impossible for the population to be held hostage.”

This was a massive change in terms of our strategy.

The initial belief was that landings on our home island will have to be made. Surgical strikes on enemy command, while hunting down those who installed themselves as dictators. The most optimistic amongst us believed that if done well, with all our assets, we could retake control with little bloodshed. It would be more of a coup than a military invasion of our own homeland, but that was the most optimistic of outcomes possible.
Otherwise, we’d just return Japan to the warring states period, which would resemble China’s current state. City states and territories held by powerful generals and leader, while the citizenry paid the price of constant warfare. We’d be relegating our nation back to the feudal era, but its horrors will be amplified by the use of Talents and modern weapons as insurgent forces. The worst case scenario would see the population utterly starved and destroyed as agricultural regions were taken and retaken without being harvested or even plowed, and Japan would lose everything to conflict and destruction.

Now, with agricultural aid on the bargaining table, even in the worst of circumstances we could take most population centers and keep them alive.

223 noticed my relief and chose that moment to give the bad news I’d been trying to ignore.

“They’ll be asking for a lot, or we might find ourselves beholden to them.” That was a massive issue, even with Kaede Walker acting as the perfect bridge between our two nations. Many of our possible foes could lash out against us by simply calling us American proxies. If we were not, then we would have to pay handsomely so that we could present ourselves as equal trading partners being propped up in an alliance of equals. That would endanger what supplies and treasury we had, which would make us beholden through debt. That was an issue that I could find no solution for. “Hm, maybe Walker-san is interested in marrying into the Imperial line? It’s old school, but in this day and age, blood ties might be the one thing everyone understands.”

I paused at that, before giving a nod.

“Seriously!?”

“Not with Walker. Her disinterest in opening up to anyone is palpable. Her mask barely wavers around even Egress, and he’s the one who somehow made her move again.” I contemplated while taking a stand right behind the helm and surrounded by readouts of the whole ship. Everything was nominal according to both the AI monitors and the crew. Double-verification and green lights across the board. A single press of the button and I declared that we were set to dive. “A political alliance, however, can be more easily cemented between the civilian branches of our nations. We will have to keep it in mind.”

223 seemed flabbergasted that her idle comment resulted in insight, but I wasn’t surprised.

We were plenty bright, even without our Talent.

…

Another transport was set to arrive at the neutral zone to begin talks, and I believed that we would need to set up shelter until the facility was completed by our potential allies.

I underestimated Egress.

Both in terms of power, and how intelligent the man was in doing his utmost to remain unnoticed.

“Four hours and they’ve built a whole compound.” I looked through the periscope and frowned. It seemed simple, just a few prefabricated buildings around a paved courtyard. A few other Americans were helping with setting tables and shuffling supplies in the buildings, or setting up generators, but the logistical ability of Walker’s faction was more extensive than I expected. “This Egress outstrips Kaze entirely.”

“Yeah, Kaze gets tired after shuffling around a squad. This guy’s walking around without issue after transferring tons of supplies.” I thought that it’d be strange that Japan wouldn’t keep records of him. Now that I saw his ability, I saw why they paid such a premium. This man wasn’t a smuggler. He was living logistical network. “Imagine when this guy can do with a military arsenal at his disposal. What if he’s used to deliver a nuke right above whatever perimeter that we make?”

223’s words hung in the air, while we surfaced.

What could we do against him?

Ionize all of Japan’s airspace at eye-watering cost? Even if we could electrify our most important locations, there was nothing that could stop the man if he simply dropped a warhead a few hundred meters above a city and left. If he had an unlimited supply, he could effectively act as a guillotine blade for any who opposed him… which made me wonder even more about why he wasn’t amongst the premier Talents in the past age.

“We need to learn as much as possible about him. Contact HQ and have them send one of our agents in. Male. Elderly. Like grandfather.” I went through my memories and composed as best of a plan I could. He was wary around women, but a friend of his own gender that seemed to be at the end of their life? That seemed like a good method of gathering information. “He’s cautious around the opposite sex, but it’s likely he’ll lower his guard a bit around individuals who don’t hold key advantages over him that he frets over.”

“Got it, captain. One old, wrinkled up guy coming up!”

I sighed at 223’s attempt to break the tension after the revelation of Egress’s power, but a few of the bridge crew giggled.

She’d done her job, so I said nothing and focused on my own.

Just how mighty of a threat did Egress pose?