I await the arrival of 3000 women as agreed in the trade agreement plus the few extra as a gift. In a great hall for 5000 soldiers at a time. The feast is being prepared to welcome them. They just became a currency they must be terrified. I want this transition to be calm. So I have each group of women separated by language making their own personal banner to welcome them. 

The mission was only supposed to take 6 hours’ round trip. It’s been 9 hours. On the ticker the foods are ready and there’s a countdown for the different lunch and dinner shifts. I’m getting impatient. I call the six interpreters up to the stage. They race up to the stage knowing not to keep me waiting. The French guy loses this race. 

I turn to them, "they should have been back 3 hours ago. All these women are free to have this meal we prepared for all of them but I have to get this place cleared, so in their cafeteria and in their pods, not in here. And they are to hang up these banners. They just spent 4000 man hours on these they are amazing. These might be permanently put up, simply amazing. Anyways, after that, it’s a normal day for them in their pods and cells. You six are dismissed." 

I teleport to the door and run through trying to figure out where to go first. I’m flying by every window not caring who sees me. I might have made war with a neighboring ally. I decide to check to see if it could have been pilot error. I teleport to the nearest elevator I made these floors difficult to teleport through by putting a water underneath it in case someone with the same power as me wants to assassinate me by teleporting to wherever I am, they can’t because you can’t teleport through the water. Some floors and walls are exempt for my rapid escape or rapid transit. But I like elevators, they cause me to have excellent reveals. I get down to the proper floor and I go to the hangars the fastest way I can. And just borrow someone and their facebot. This guy is scared because he has never met me before, he’s just a kid. I take him to the security office. And the ranking officer announces me.

I could care less about that I whip it to a face I recognize "get this on the big screen to the time during the takeoff and the first 10 kilometers afterward." He slaps it in like a boss and starts rewinding through the 9 hours and he goes too far I see a flash of me giving my speech this morning and I was asked one of the questions in the row in front of this guy. I take over the controls fast forwarding and this guy in the rest of what I have to say. The lights flash meaning it’s ready for the launches. 
I understand right away things aren’t going well. The levitation is unstable the movement is choppy. Every fighter pilot is very low ranked, brand new or of basic and it shows. The mech are all partially damaged on the way out. Sections C-X are scratched up to hell with missing lights and live wires everywhere. And on the way out several times that stalled out, I also don’t understand why they are not even going 100kph, their cruising speed is supposed to be 200kph minimum preferred is closer to 600kph. I pause it. "I’ve seen enough. Has the damage report been completed yet for the electricians to start repairs?" 
The man I grabbed originally, "Sir, I have started the report. I have gone A-U-01 through L-L-10. When you caught me and brought me here I stopped for some water for a break with all the electricity in the air it was getting hot in that suit." I teleport to the warrior grab him by the throat and teleport him into the wall, "Berles, what is the rule about addressing me?" 

"Your name is Bōkun and you want to be addressed as such."

I release his throat, "very good Berles, now as ranking officer who is his trainer who is teaching him the reporting process and inspection process?" 

"I am, I walked with him and showed him how to do it for all of section A. I was with him while he did B-D. Then I left him alone to finish."

"Fair enough. Now-" 

The door flies open and an alto comes in, "Bōkun I’ve been looking everywhere for you."

I slap him hard and he flies into a chair and desk. He stands right back up at attention having a hard time getting up. "You cut me off. Asshole. It better be important." 

"Communications room, C4, me" He is out of breath. "Colorado is very angry with us. 1000s of women and we didn’t send him anything. He is threatening to launch solar strike. If their leader doesn’t talk to you. In an hour."

"How long ago was this?" 

He struggles to talk, "forty, seven, minutes."

"Yes, that’s a valid reason to leave your post. Take my hand. This is going to hurt." He holds my hand in my other hand is that kids facebot and I start teleporting as much as I can going from the 145th floor to the 474th floor. I don’t remember all the spots that let me teleport easily. Eventually, he is begging me to stop. So we are dashing through halls helping others push things as we see them as a challenge. Two one horsepower sleighs causing havoc, helping all the way. 
I have to wait for him to get to that final elevator. We take it all the way to where we need to go. And I teleport him into his room. On his screen is a large timer with 4:35 left. 

I get on screen. "Lord Conoco. Please respond." More time passes 3:42. "Lord Conoco as requested Warden Bōkun is here."

3:39 blinks three times then the clock stops. "Bōkun, buddy, how are you?" 

"Why were you going to vaporize my nation."

"You stiffed me on all that stuff, I have you a very good deal. Mexico was offering me triple but because we have been allies for 26 years I thought I could trust you." 

"You have it all wrong."

"No, I don’t. You think you are all big and bad because your nation is 4 times the physical size and just the one base you call home is 10 times as big as my entire nation. Fuck you!" 

"I found out just now that we sent warriors, not hero’s for this. You still got the auxiliary cord to make it so you can see videos I send you through here?"

"Hanging up in every communications room." 

"Get it out I need to show you something." Then I turn to the alto, "this is not for your eyes, I’m going to keep you busy. Sweep and mop this entire floor from communications all the way to the server room until I come get you."

He leaves and I get the cord out and I get the video ready. "Bōkun I’m ready whenever you are ready." 

I push the download segment section and then I push play to let the video go until the sixth time they stall out then I push stop. "Ok Conoco tell me when you have seen the whole thing."

The minutes pass and he says, "Ok it’s loaded on this end. I am going to watch it." More minutes pass and he asks me, "I have watched it. What do you have to say about this rocky start to the trade mission with no enemy involvement." 

"Sometimes life is good. And things go as they should. Searching for this way gets harder every day. That goal is shining bright. This path was scarred we have been having trouble with locals. It’s unknown because the troubles fall in line, one at a time. But there’s no time to lose I need to show you the way to the help you need. The locals have been a shadow on the wall that circumnavigates and concurs all attempts to enlighten. It doesn’t help that the pilots sucked and might have crashed kilometers from the base."

"How long you need for the investigation?" 

"I’ve decided that I’m going to lead a recovery mission today I would have one of my sons do it but one is dead and the other is the leader of the village that is kicking our ass oh and he is the murderer of my older son.

Anyways the excavation mission I will be leading if I gave time as well. How about tomorrow in 73 hours I call you again and see from there."  

"I guess that’s the best I can do. I can believe I’m out 3000 women." 
"Natives might have military grade weaponry, mech and even fighter planes. I’d rather be out 3000 women." 

The screen turns off and a timer of 1:22:58:29 gets on screen and starts counting down. 
I go to my office and look up the names of all hero ranked officers. And I get on my intercom system, "all hero ranked personnel are to report to the pad by my mansion for an emergency mandatory mission, points will be set later. Let’s go!" 

I go outside and start to wait. Most men I can see coming from very far away 12 put holes in the floor jumping through so they didn’t have to wait for elevators.

"If you jumped through the floor, step forward." They make their own formation to the side. 

"Today you will be docked 1500 points for every floor you jumped through. If I can’t figure it out, you will be averaged. You guys are dismissed, shit bags, ruining my nice marble floors. Go die in your perspective holes."

I wait for them to disappear. "Ok, so today the mission of bomb the surface and a midair trade off goods and prisoners was deemed a failure 9 hours after a start. 8 hours after it was deemed a flawless victory. This makes hour 10. If there’s survivors, intact equipment or supplies we need them back here to arrange an H.I.H.O. delivery. Out of the remaining 47 of you, I will send 28 of you or to work." 

I clear my throat, "first of all, who here is an electrician or a carpenter. Make another formation of that is your primary or secondary career." I wait to see what’s going on. "Ok you 19, go to fleet launch, you will be needed reports aren’t done just trust me." I count through the group 9, "is Chavez still here?"

"Yes, Bōkun." 

"I read in your profile in a glance that you are in charge of ammo and energy, you won’t be leaving base today but you and you alone will be filling the orders for the vehicles. Go get a head start."

"Roger that." As he jumps in a hole "Yahoo-!" 

"Ok these holes are pissing me off, no one else is to use them!"

As a group "Hoorah Bōkun!" 

"Ok, now from the rest of you I need one person to commandeer a scanner, everyone else has no limits to the vehicles are all except that since the scanner has a maximum speed of 70kph you have to be able to go that slow. And then you send your orders for ammo and energy to Hero Chavez, if someone else gives it to you, send it back. Report back here without using these fucking holes or making new ones in 1 hour. Dismissed."

They run away and I walk back to my place and I get my personal mech from my attic. It’s a little dusty but all systems still work. I go ahead and oil the joints I know how to maintain because this was my job back in the day mech and aeronautical engineering and repair. 

The time passes quickly and about 60% complete I hear outside "Bōkun squad for mission reporting."

I walk to the porch and see the assortment of vehicles. Everyone proudly standing in front of their vehicle of choice. "Everyone get up here." I step back and watch everyone land. The one who lands last I give him a list I wrote, "Go to mech bay and get these parts, they need replacing and I need this for my weapons when you return you will have another list probably. Dismissed." 
He leaps away slipping away in a hole trying to miss them. "Oww!" Coughing in one of the holes "I’m good, I’m good. I’m going to walk to the elevator now. Oww." 

I turn to the others, "we are using the elevator to get down. Anyways I called you up here because I’m not done with my maintenance. I need help to complete it in a good time frame. This is my personal mech I built it myself to include threading every bolt. All bolts are 10mm, 15mm or 25mm, don’t be looking at the other tools without asking. As for the oil, I only have 3 cans so we will be sharing. I did the head, which needs many sensors replaced so we will do the back last. I also did the legs and part of the left arm. Ok, let’s do this." 

It goes really quick even the repairs. I’m able to tell them to use the chains to crank up the roof. I see the sky above me a panoramic view of non-polluted clouds above me. I forgot why I built this custom shop for myself. I haven’t been on a mission since my son was in his early teens. 
I quickly move all the limbs while I’m on the ground then I leap up and put my mech on the north side instead of the east side with all the holes. 

I let myself out and go back in and have them shut it back to the roof position. While going down in the elevator I tell them we are going off the edge and I will bring them down safely. I have no problem bringing them all down even while inside my mech. After we get down we do a quick systems check and we are off and on the day’s channel. After 15 minutes the one in the scanner, "I’m detecting set heat signatures. Permission requested to send out a drone to see what it is." 
"Permission granted, give me a video feed first." 

"Everyone stop here so I can set it all up." We all stop and put ourselves in defensive postures.

 "Bōkun"

"Yes, Hero Flynn Sr." 

"The link to the program to send you the feed at the same time as me is corrupt, so I can see it but you can’t."

"You made it to the Hero rank, I trust your judgment."

"Ok and launched." It’s indicating a signal of a shoulder rope. We have one of our soldiers alive just past that viaduct." 

"Can you tell who it is?"

"Looks like they are partially buried in dirt and rubble I’m going to levitate them." 

"Be careful about it."

"It looks like Dorian actually but his face and looks destroyed like he got shot in the face. He missing an arm, part of his stomach, parts of his back, and half of his right leg. Scavengers had fun with him." 

"Ha, ha, ha, bring him here, I brought a DNA kit for identifying bodies that were charred." 

"Roger that Bōkun." He brings the body to my mech but it takes a while at only 25kph.

"Just put it down. I’ll go visit the body myself 3 V-covers and the rest on me in person." 
We all get out of our vehicles and the body is placed in my hands. Looking at my son. The grotesque nature of it all excrement all over his back, his clothing and armor soaked in urine, evidence of blood splattering everywhere. A very faint heartbeat only going about 10 bpm, He is taking shallow quick breaths every 6 seconds or so. I can tell that he has been here for a very long time. His body is in a state of shock and a coma but this long without life support he should be dead. He is alive but probably would not have lasted much longer at all. 

I take the test out and prick near his heart to get a viable blood sample. I wait for results as it beeps and ticks at me. And the results, "Drent, is still alive. I turn to the other heroes. This man was shot in the head almost two years ago. And he still lives! Even with just being left there. I don’t know why he is alive. There’s no medical reasoning I can see for him being alive! I’m going to be honest and just tell you straight up unless you guys really want me to assign someone as the leader today or tomorrow and you keep looking for stuff. I see no reason to continue. This is a mission failure; everyone will still get 1000 points." 

One of the heroes says, "I believe I speak for all of us when I say we would all rather just start this mission again tomorrow instead of getting a mission failure." 

"Very well Heroes. Put your vehicles and mech in the reserve bay. I will do the same after I bring him to Quisling. Let’s go home."

Next Chapter: Chapter 22: Madness: Staff Sergeant Drent Reaux: March19, 4997