Above the Mariana Trench, inside the aircraft carrier command center, Commander Chester was heading to the conference room with his secretary, Lowell, to attend a meeting.
“The Pacific Fleet has 4 aircraft carriers, the Atlantic Fleet has 3, and the surviving Indian Ocean Fleet has 3 carriers, making a total of 10 aircraft carriers. Currently, 5 of them are undergoing synchronized modifications in 5 shipyards along the East Asian coast.”
“How long will it take?”
“6 days per batch, a total of 12 days.”
“They truly deserve to be called East Asia. The manufacturing speed is indeed the fastest in the world.”
A bell rang in the corridor, announcing the end of the morning shift and the gathering of soldiers in the cafeteria.
“There are a few more things. Several officers from the Atlantic Fleet want to discuss the rotation schedule with you. They feel that their crew members haven’t adjusted to the time difference yet and want to join the next shift.”
“They’re going back the more they live, huh? Tell them to talk to that guy, Yuri. If their own commander can’t persuade them, then don’t bother me.”
Turning a corner, Chester avoided the oncoming crowd.
After the crowd dispersed, Chester checked the time on his watch and hastened his steps.
“What’s next?”
“Senator Amano has invited you to the inauguration ceremony of the first Anti-Godzilla Cannon this afternoon. He wants you to cut the ribbon for this massive cannon.”
“Hmm? Why? Don’t they have General Sato Hirozo, the Army Commander? Where is he?”
“He is attending the cannon inauguration in Osaka.”
“I’ll agree to it. But tell him that it’s too early to start thinking about what to do after defeating Godzilla.”
“Go to the third floor.”
In the elevator lobby, the two of them used voice commands to open the elevator and continued their conversation after entering the floor number.
“How are the new warships coming along? During the meeting, they said they could build 30 destroyers a day. Have they been built? It’s been five days, and not a single new warship is ready.”
“The Unified Military Industrial Bureau ordered a halt to the production of destroyers. After their calculations, they realized that the level of destroyers alone is insufficient to pose a threat to Godzilla. The internal compartments of the ships simply cannot accommodate that much capacitance.”
“So what’s the plan then?”
“They have increased the size of the specialized warship models for Godzilla several times over. Now, just one of them is equivalent to the previous seven in terms of volume.”
“But the cost is that even the first experimental ship won’t be available for another 60 days.”
“Slower than the cannons. When it’s finally built, will it still be useful?”
“There’s no other choice. Dealing with Godzilla requires this type of warship, and besides, the requirements for the cannons and the warships are completely different in terms of materials. Naturally, the timeframes cannot be the same.”
“Oh, Commander, we have arrived.”
The elevator doors opened, and the two of them headed towards the conference room.
“Now that the warships are not available, what support does our Navy have to offer?”
“Support? Commander, I’m afraid we don’t have any support left. You should be well aware of this.”
“The current idea among the lawmakers is for the Navy to act as the first line of defense against Godzilla. If Godzilla heads towards the Australian mainland, we will interfere and force it to change direction. If it heads east, we will provide auxiliary strikes from the coastline. Let’s face the reality, General, we have been abandoned. We are no longer the frontline against Godzilla.”
“Even the specialized warships for Godzilla only have a role in attacking Godzilla on land from the sea.”
“But not to determine the outcome in the ocean.”
After saying these words, Lowell was mentally prepared to be scolded by his superior, as usual.
However, Chester just reached a corner, turned his head, and looked out of the window of the corridor, saying:
“Handing over the largest battlefield, allowing the enemy to land on our own soil before launching an attack? Hmph… Look at the sea, abandoned by them? Truly a bunch of bastards.”
After saying these words, he didn’t say anything more.
Commander Chester briskly walked towards the conference room.
As Lowell, who was following closely behind him, caught up, he looked at the direction Chester was gazing out the window.
But it was different from what he expected.
There was no vast sea there, only soldiers who had finished their meals and were preparing to return to their positions on the deck, along with warships crowding the distant ocean.
Abandoned by them, indeed they were a bunch of bastards.
Pushing open the door, Chester entered the conference room, where familiar faces were present.
Commander Yuri of the Atlantic Fleet, the commanders of various aircraft carriers, and several deputy commanders.
Among these military personnel, in the midst of them all, was the projection of Professor Andrei, whom they had seen just a few days ago, holding a report and seemingly busy with something.
“What exactly has happened?”
As soon as he arrived, Chester directed his question towards the projected Professor Andrei. This meeting was actually called by the scientist, not just by the Navy.
Now, not only the Army on the Far East Island was participating in this meeting, but also high-ranking officials from around the world.
Chester had no idea what could have happened to gather so many people at such a critical moment.
But to his question, the projected Professor Andrei did not respond in any way. He continued to be engrossed in whatever he was doing, rigid as before.
It seemed that he was not in front of the screen.
“Just wait a moment.”
Commander Yuri of the Atlantic Fleet, a young bald man, spoke. Though he appeared young, it was only a superficial impression.
In reality, he was in his fifties, but still the youngest among the three fleet commanders.
Finding two seats, Commander Chester sat down and waited for the meeting to begin.
And after about ten minutes, Professor Andrei in the center of the conference room finally started to move.