Nihonkoku Shoukan: Beyond

Chapter 19: Into the Unknown

24th December 1639 CCY, Momotaru Joint Base, Topa

With the talk between the two governments ended successfully, a Cooperative and Defensive Treaty between Japan and Topa was signed. It was surely made easier with the transferring of ownership of the area where Japan builds the forward operating base used for Operation Doomslayer. Now, companies are pushing hard on investment into Topa. With investment from both the private and government sector into Topa, the Fortress town of Rergen, Tormeus and the capital Berngen are seeing many new developments. New harbors and airports are being built for the use of both civilians and the military, and new highways and railroads are being built to support the rapid pace of development. Merchants from both countries are allowed to trade with each other with no tariff. Notably, the traditional food and silk from Topa are becoming increasingly popular in Japan, meanwhile, the Topans really love the convenience that electricity brings into their life.

The FOB Rergen is now expanded and become a big Joint Base just like Shizuhama in Qua Toyne. The base is renamed Momotaru, consisting of a new airport and harbor based on the model of Shizuhama. It can accommodate 50000 military personnel and their family members. The base now also incorporates a Military Academy for military personnel from Topa to be trained with the standard of the Cosmos Marine.

The gate of the world, previously destroyed by the demons from the Grameus continent is being fixed with engineers and personnel from the Japan Corp of Engineers. It was discovered that the technique and material used in the construction are quite similar to structures built with technique from the late 20th to 21st century on Earth. The stressed concrete prefab structure with steel reinforcement pointed out the advanced construction methods that no one in the Philades continent can replicate, and what's more impressive is this structure was built thousands of years ago. This puzzles the engineers to no end. In the end, it was decided to fix the wall and reinforce it with many new materials, as well as place surveillance apparatuses on the and numerous weapon emplacements pointed toward the dark continent. Both Topan and Japanese will man this wall together.

Operation Room, Momotaru Joint Base

"Well, this is the latest satellite photos that we can get from the Grameus continent. We were lucky this time because the cloud formation above was dissipating. All other methods of surveillance are almost always blocked by magnetic interference." – Technical Lieutenant Kaoru Niimi

Niimi puts a large image onto the wall-mounted display. It shows a few small dots of light in the Northwestern part of the Grameus continent. The faint light dots represent the settlement of humans or another species.

"Hm... so there are present of humans in Grameus after all?" – Lieutenant Akira

"Well, either that or that could just be another humanoid species or worse, demons that we see from that last battle. I can't say anything more on this without people on the ground." – Niimi

"Hm... so what's our play here? I don't think we can just send a Seagulls in there, and sending an Angler with a full complement of troops into the unknown is too dangerous." – Yamada

"I agree to that, Major. Normally, we can just send one of our ships there. But that would reveal too much of our capabilities and may frighten the natives." – Niimi

"But HQ have asked us to make contact with them as soon as possible, right?" – Yamada

"Yes..." – Niimi

"How about a recon flight with just a fighter in there first?" – Akira

The two look at Akira.

"Are you sure about this, lieutenant? This is too risky." – Major Yamada