159 Prelude to Chaos
Back at Tokyo Imperial Palace, while the Grand Duchesses were just starting on the starters prepared by the best imperial chefs in the Yamato Empire, the door suddenly flung open, disrupting the amicable mood both royal families had been enjoying.
“I’m sorry for the sudden intrusion,” Rolan spoke in Yamato, surprising the members of the Imperial Family of the Yamato Empire again. “And for interrupting your luncheon, your highnesses.”
He walked over to Christina with a concerned look written on his face.
“What’s the matter? Christina asked, putting down her spoon seemingly confused about what was going on.
“We have to leave the Imperial Palace, Your Highness, please follow me,” he grabbed Tiffania and Anastasia by the arm, pulling them up from their seats, hurting them a little.
“Ouch…Rolan…what the hell?” Tiffania exclaimed.
Their spoons made a din as those clatter to the tiled floor.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. But we really have to get going by now,” Rolan said as he pressed a finger on his ears, contacting the rest of his team through earphones. “Start the vehicle, we’re going out as soon as possible.”
“Rolan…explain to us what’s going on? You’re causing a scene,” Christina demanded
“I will explain everything once we are in the safe area. Just trust me,” Rolan stated sternly as he ushered the Grand Duchesses out of the dining hall.
However, as they were about to reach the door, Hirohito slammed the table, producing an outburst of noise, shocking the members of the Imperial Family of the Yamato Empire and causing Rolan to ground to a halt.
“Sir, you just barged into the room with no permission, grabbed the Grand Duchesses, and forced them to leave with you? I may not speak Ruthenian but I can understand a gist of it,” Hirohito glared, obviously upset with Rolan.
“This is a matter of security for the Grand Duchesses of Ruthenia Empire. This does not, in any way, concern you, Your Imperial Highness,” Rolan flatly responded.
“You are in the Yamato Empire, we are responsible for the safety of the Grand Duchesses as well. So I think we have the right to know what’s going on that caused you and your team to leave our Imperial Palace so suddenly.”
Rolan clicked his tongue, feigning ignorance that their government is involved in a plot to endanger the Grand Duchesses.
“It’s classified and I will speak no further about this matter. For now, we are considering the presence of the Grand Duchesses anywhere but the Ruthenian Embassy dangerous…”
As they were having what could be considered a heated argument, an official of a Yamato Empire rushed inside the dining hall and reported something to the Emperor and the Crown Prince.
However, Rolan didn’t waste any time hearing about its contents and left the Imperial Palace. He was holding Tiffania and Anastasia tightly in their arms as he was pulling them out of the vicinity.
“Rolan, you’re scaring us here,” Anastasia whispered.
“I apologize for scaring you, Your Majesty. However, I cannot risk revealing anything more until we are clear of the Palace and back to the Ruthenian embassy” Rolan apologized, tightening his hold on the two girls with a foreboding tone.
They made their way quickly to the Bukavac parked on the Imperial Palace grounds.
“All of you please get inside,” Rolan ordered, opening the doors of the car and ushering everyone inside.
The three women sat in the backseat of the luxurious armored SUV. After that, Rolan got inside the car and signaled Matvei Samarin, who was in the driver’s seat, to drive.
The three SUVs rolled out and proceeded to the main gate of the Imperial Palace. However, it was barred by the Yamato guards stationed in the Imperial Palace.
“Sir, we got a situation,” the lead escort, Igor, reported the situation at the gate to Rolan through an earpiece.
“Are they locking us up here?” Rolan snorted. “Pay it no heed, run it down if you have to,” he commanded.
“Understood,” Igor slammed the pedal onto the floor as he sped off, the engine roared, causing panic to the Yamato guards who frantically shouted and waved their hands to stop. Seeing that it was futile, they ran to the side, avoiding the vehicle headed straight towards them.
Seconds after, Igor rammed the gate violently, making loud crashing noises as some of the parts went under the black SUV.
He turned into the planned evacuation route as the six-wheeled beast and the second SUV drove past the ruined gates and followed his lead. The wheels of the three futuristic vehicles from Ruthenia raced away from the Tokyo Imperial Palace.
If the urgently rude meal interruption did not anger Prince Hirohito already, then the unintended destruction of his palace property will absolutely piss him off.
“Man the M134, now!” Rolan barked another order. One of the special forces inside the two SUVs manned the M134 Minigun and protruded atop the SUVs.
The M134 Minigun is a copy of the same named portable electrically driven Gatling gun. A key difference is the M134 Minigun here is built to adapt to current common rifle cartridges, reducing the cost in logistics to feed the bullet hose monster.
Alexander was bad at coming up with names for every technology he introduced into this world. Just like this one, when he was asked by one of his engineers working in the Imperial Dynamic Systems about the name of the Gatling gun, he answered M134. Think of it as his way of crediting the inventor and the teams who have made the technology possible.
Once they were in position, Rolan spoke to his earpiece again.
“Be wary of the surroundings, we have received a message from the Embassy that there will be an attack that will break out any moment soon.”
“Understood,” the special forces acknowledged in unison.
“Attack? What attack are you talking about?” Christina demanded an answer from Rolan.
“Your Highness, we’ve received a report from one of our operatives working for the FIS stationed in Tokyo that there exists a plot to endanger the three of you,” Rolan finally revealed.
“What…” Christina’s face turned pale as her voice cracked. “Who?”
“It is not yet confirmed but reports say that a right-wing ultranationalist was behind the plot,” Rolan explained.
Christina was completely silent and stared blankly at Rolan. Although she had heard rumors that the people in Yamato hated their country, she never imagined that they would do something extreme like this.
Her gaze flickered to her sister, her melancholic expression was enough to make the two younger girls feel sad. They visited the Yamato Empire because they were interested in their rich culture and wanted to experience it firsthand. Now, it has turned into a nightmare.
Still, she’s the oldest one and she must display a calm façade and stay strong. It was her responsibility to protect them at all costs, it was a promise she made with his brother before they left Ruthenia.
The convoy sped down the road into the night.
…
Meanwhile, at Shinzo Sakawa’s residence.
Shinzo was breathing heavily, his lips curled downward and face red with anger, infuriated that their plans were found out by the Ruthenian scums.
He grabbed up the telephone and contacted someone.
“Are you all in positions?” Shinzo simply asked.
“Yes. Shinzo-dono. Are we clear to shoot?” the man from the other side of the line said as they saw a three speeding SUV racing down the road from afar.
Shinzo thought deeply before giving out orders to them. Since the Ruthenian spy has found out about the document on his briefcase, which he also believes that the spy already has in possession of, evidence that can tie him and the Yamato government together, he concluded that it is too late to back down now.
“Soldiers of the Yamato Empire, I entrust you to do your duties and serve in the best interest of the country and for the emperor. We must show the world that the Yamato Empire is a country that shouldn’t be looked upon. We have defeated the Ruthenian Empire in the war, and we will do so again, and once we do, the vision of our Emperor of a glorious Empire shall be realized. “
Shinzo breathed deeply before sending out his order. “Fire.”
…
Back at the convoy, Vlad Babinski was manning the M134, pivoting around as he scanned the surroundings. It was oddly silent for one of the many busy streets of Tokyo.
The night has already darkened considerably, reducing the visibility of most things except for the occasional street light that shines above.
He lowered down his night vision which also features thermal imaging from his tactical helmet, scanning the area once more and making sure everything was fine. He was just about to turn around and aligned the M134 to the convoy, when suddenly a bright flash illuminated from the tree line nearby, followed by a thunderous noise. When Vlad turned around, his eyes widened, staring disbelievingly in shock and disbelief.
A shell exploded from the side of the SUV he was in.