I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 730

New York City, New York State, has no air defense facilities.

The brilliant, wise, and exceptional – ironically – Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld once embraced the process of BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) 2005 by a federal government commission.

Airbases in New York, North Dakota, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Ohio, capable of operating F-16s, F-15s, and A-10s, along with the assignments of numerous soldiers, turned to ashes. New Jersey was able to operate F-15s, but it was never executed.

On September 11, 2001, during the most shocking event, the 9/11 attacks, NEAD had to defend an 830 km coastline from Cape Cod to North Carolina with just two F-15s and F-16s.

Some proposals went to Congress.

And they passed.

Brooks Air Force Base in Texas, Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia, Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina, and Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota vanished.

The BRAC commission projected that these recommendations would save $50 billion over 20 years, but 20 years was far too long, and instead, the relocation and construction of new facilities led to military spending of $35 billion.

The Department of Defense claimed an annual reduction of $4 billion in spending, but whether that was truly the case remained uncertain.

What was certain, however, was this:

The U.S. East Coast air defense network was no longer protected by missiles but by fighter jets.

Perhaps, it wasn’t such a bad choice after all.

U.S. defense spending was the overwhelming number one in the world, and even if the countries ranked from second to fifteenth combined their defense budgets, they couldn’t surpass the U.S. annual defense budget.

The U.S. Air Force could control the world, and even without nuclear weapons, could flatten enemy countries with just air force power. Even hostile nations couldn’t seriously claim to invade the U.S. mainland using aerial forces.

For this reason, despite the massive size of the air force, the U.S. didn’t give much attention to the latest surface-to-air missiles – not that they had given up on them.

It was just that it was enough.

The Patriot missile, first introduced in the 1970s, the AN/TWQ-1 Avenger, a Humvee with surface-to-air missiles mounted, Typhon trucks equipped with Mk.41 VLS (Vertical Launch System), ground-based Tomahawk cruise missiles, and SM-6 fleet defense missiles retrofitted with hypersonic capabilities.

The NASAMS, a joint development between Kongsberg and Raytheon, and the Aegis Ashore, a ground-based air defense combat system, were all part of this.

In theory, that was enough, and at least until a certain point, it was more than enough.

Up until the early 2030s.

• "You say we don't have any manned air combat power available...?"

• "We’re short on pilots, maintenance crews, weapons controllers, runway maintenance personnel, air traffic controllers, fuel transporters... Everything. We can’t do anything. The sky is no longer ours."

• "W-What... What is going on?"

As modern systems grew so large that they could no longer fit in one person’s head, they were operated under the concept of specialization.

As time passed, and as society progressed, people began running increasingly complex systems that couldn’t be sustained without specialization. This was true for the military as well.

Conversely, when the overall number of people declined, if new personnel with specialized knowledge weren’t trained, it would be impossible to respond to the demands of others who needed those specific skills.

At present, Central Park could operate unmanned aerial vehicles and respond to Dagger Team’s CAS requests because UAVs required "a little" less attention than manned aircraft.

Of course, the difference wasn’t that big.

"...So, this is why we need to put missiles on nearby buildings. Got it?"

"In other words, since nothing is functioning properly, if the enemy's airborne troops come in on transport planes, we have no choice but to do this, right?"

"Exactly. And well... if they actually land, they’ll launch all sorts of missiles to suppress the coast, but we’ll need something to intercept that. I don’t think we’ll use nuclear missiles though…"

"Why?"

"What, are they going to scatter nuclear weapons on the land they’re invading before even setting up a temporary command? They’d die from radiation poisoning before they can even set up camp."

"Ah."

"And we’ve got nuclear missiles too. The moment they use them, it’ll be mutual destruction."

As he said, if you were to consider only Russia or China, the U.S. could still hold an advantage even if it was crippled – but if other countries joined in, it would become a very difficult situation.

In any case, from the mid-20th century onward, great powers successfully developed mutually assured destruction weapons capable of burning their own countries and deployed them into active service. The U.S. would definitely be doomed, but Russia and China would be the same.

Moreover, due to critical mistakes by the divisions and the allied navy, U.S. superiority had become even more entrenched.

"If those bastards hadn’t messed around when they landed in New Haven, there wouldn’t have been any invasion problems, right? But what can you do? By now, the Virginia naval base and the Cyber Command are probably busy inspecting submarines."

"And thanks to that, we’ve been digging out all sorts of information from enemy networks before the allied command even realized it, heh. Anyone in the Central Park command who doesn’t know the locations of those classified missile bases is probably rare."

"Don’t sneak into my lecture, you bastard."

"I was just explaining, Olivia."

As Olivia pushed Laurentina away with the palm of her hand, Rapland was contemplating the submarine-related matter Olivia had just mentioned.

Perhaps, the mission that would eventually make Dagger Team stars once the virus apocalypse was over. The operators still occasionally brought it up even though it had been a long time since that mission was completed.

She herself felt the same.

"They’ve got the nuclear missile launch codebooks, mission callsigns, step-by-step nuclear attack scenarios, command codes, emergency communication manuals, and the names of operational center leaders and tactical commanders. By now, the allied command should have figured out they’re screwed."

"By now, they’ve probably thrown away those callsigns and codebooks. It’s going to be a disaster. Though we’re not sure, if there are still deep-cover agents in the mix, we might get some decent results."

"...Ugh. Just give me the explanation next time."

Olivia finally gave up, and Laurentina sat next to her, beginning to chatter away.

But one thing was certain: this kind of "lecture" was much more comfortable and fun for Rapland. Since her 20s, she had been forced to distance herself from studying.

So, to simplify what they were doing right now – it was kind of a future prediction.

It was being discussed through the eyes of top-tier operators who had been through countless experiences and could predict what would happen not just in one battle but in the long term.

Simply by hearing this, Rapland could get an idea of how the operations officers were making grand strategies from a macro perspective and calculating the necessary materials to execute them.

As always, the right challenges, triggers, and help made a person grow both mentally and physically.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

"Anyway, we need to tell you what you’ll have to do next so you can get ready."

"...I was listening well, but hearing that makes me a little scared now."

"Yeah, yeah. That’s understandable. But I’m not planning on giving you psychological treatment… no wait, since I’m going to be your senior, maybe I should? A little overwhelming though."

"You always end your sentences with weird things."

"Just go with it, you bastard! You have to solve things immediately so there’s no spark left for later!"

As Rapland thought she was going to forget everything she had heard, she became a little curious about what Olivia’s psychological treatment might be but quickly stopped thinking about it. Olivia unfolded a hologram with a map. It displayed the locations of defense industry factories across the U.S.

"Anyway, Central Park is currently aiming to restore military supplies and transport them to at least minimally restore U.S. combat power."

With a swish, Olivia’s slender finger traced the map, and at that moment, the hologram shimmered and formed a new appearance—east, west, and south. The lights sparkled, forming a sort of defense line.

Numbers were displayed next to it. Aside from New York, which was marked as 1, there was nothing particularly unusual.

However, the length of the defense line itself was concerning.

"The reason is simple. From Massachusetts to Florida... enemy allied forces are expected to invade this area first. If we don’t recover and restore our forces now, we’re going to be in serious trouble."

"...But to come to the northeast, they would have to cross the Atlantic, wouldn’t they? The U.S. West Coast seems like it would get hit first."

"Oh. You’re pretty smart. But unfortunately, the top command suspects that the attack on the West Coast will be a little delayed. We’re the same."

"Why?"

"Because the Third and Seventh Fleets, which are among the most powerful in the U.S. Navy, obliterated the allied navy in the Pacific. Though it seems they took quite a hit too."

At the same time, the map expanded.

The globe spun quickly and illuminated the entire Pacific, highlighting Japan’s Yokosuka and South Korea’s Busan. Red X marks were clearly visible all over the waters.

Rapland didn’t immediately understand what this meant, but the conversation continued.

"Thanks to our friends struggling overseas, Russia might be fine, but China definitely won’t be able to extend to the West Coast. Do you get the feeling?"

"...I think I understand."

"Good. We don’t know how much time the enemy will give us, but as I mentioned before, we need to start serious rebuilding, so we’ll have to prepare properly."

"Uh... so do we just learn what you teach us?"

"No?"

"Excuse me?"

At that moment, Laurentina and Olivia stretched, then added.

"What do mutants do best?"

"Uh... Combat?"

"Well, that's close, but not the point. The real answer is physical labor."

Physical labor?

Before she could think further, the conversation continued.

"Are you good at carrying heavy things?"

"...I’m an operations officer, though!?"

"You bastard, don’t use being an operations officer as an excuse when it’s inconvenient!"

Rapland was thoroughly subdued.

Human-shaped cranes, or human-shaped trucks, were soon to be used for various tasks.

"...It’s too hot to work, don’t you think? I think it’s just about right for me, but it must be uncomfortable for you, Rapland."

"Well, it’s better than nothing. And with all the simultaneous construction going on here, there’s nowhere that’s really safe... Hmm, there’s another request for help. Let’s go. Rapland, you keep watch around here."

"...Yes."

A few days later, Lower Manhattan.

The Dagger Team, who had been living in Central Park but rarely wandered through the city itself, finally left Central Park for the first time in a while.

The weather was already getting warm, with just the right amount of humidity. However, the smell of burning vehicles and the sight of buildings blackened and melted by white phosphorus still surrounded them... Well, it wasn’t something they had easily gotten used to.

That’s why Central Park decided to focus on clearing the cars blocking the streets.

Their destination was a junkyard in Brooklyn.

"There are over 70,000 cars just blocking the avenue in Lower Manhattan from Central Park. I wonder when we’ll get around to clearing all of this."

"Shut up about moving cars!"

"Ah, come on. They’re not even that heavy... Oh, now that I think about it, Olivia, your weight class is a bit low."

"Shut up, you!"

With that sound, the cars began to move, climbing up onto the sidewalk.

To send the cars that had completely blocked the streets of Manhattan to the junkyard, a few procedures were necessary. First, they had to clear a path to the junkyard in places like New Jersey or Brooklyn.

The method was simple. Tow trucks or car carriers, which could transport multiple cars at once, would make their way through, and once the path was cleared, they could move the cars from the most needed spots.

The problem was that the junkyard was about 8 km from Lower Manhattan, and the cars, tightly packed, had to be moved all the way over.

You could suggest just attaching a wedge to a large truck and pushing them all aside, but...

• [Alert: Body detected inside vehicle. Activating sensory filters and odor-blocking features.]

"...There’s a dead person inside this vehicle."

"We don’t have a choice. Rapland, don’t look, just close your eyes. Scan it for social security cards or credit cards, check the identity... then send them off."

"Yes."

Sometimes, people who didn’t sleep peacefully ended up inside cars like this.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the Icarus Gear activated its sensory filters. I inspected the inside of the vehicle. Apart from the outline of a human shape, nothing else was visible. Thanks to the tactical lens embedded in my vision.

The Icarus Gear formed a contagious incendiary device through nanomachines in the empty air, and I used a pulse to verify the person’s information. After opening the opposite door, I threw the information inside.

How much time had passed?

???Fwoooosh!

The nanomachines decomposed the organic matter and emitted an intense heat, filling the car with smoke and flames. Leaving that behind, I lifted the car and moved it onto the sidewalk.

Olivia looked grim. It was probably a similar scene happening wherever the Dagger Team was, and the names of the victims continued to rise on the UI.

The simple combination of letters was the names of the victims.

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, the white phosphorus dropped in Lower Manhattan had burned up all the nearby cars, whether they had bodies inside or not.

It was rare to find victims inside cars that hadn’t been burned, but still...

The mental shock? Not much. I had become numb to it, and the Icarus Gear helped by altering visual data to eliminate visual shocks and regulating hormone secretion to prevent PTSD.

'...Is this really the right thing to do?'

On the other hand, if you ask if it’s natural to be traumatized by witnessing things as they are... well, that’s not right either.

No matter how I or anyone else felt about it, there was always the best method, and the Icarus Gear simply applied that to me, the user.

I thought about that with a sigh and moved on, periodically checking the surroundings to see if there were any other things I needed to check.

• [Owens: The ground subsidence rate has slowed slightly. Most of the underground water discharge systems in Manhattan are running without major issues. There are a few broken parts, which have caused some subway lines to flood.]

• [Laurentina: There are a few parts of the old pipelines that need immediate replacement. I’m currently checking if there are any suspicious individuals around. So far, there’s no major issue.]

• [Logan: Still checking.]

"Everyone’s busy. I’m not quite sure what Logan’s checking though..."

"There’s no one who isn’t busy. But why is Logan checking something?"

"He said he’s looking into something?"

"Hmm."

At the same time, Olivia made a personal call and began talking about various things.

While Olivia was busy, Rapland kept watch and helped me move the car with difficulty, but her expression... was worse than expected.

Before I could hear the reason, the communication was connected.

I heard a familiar voice.

• "It’s nothing major, just a few missing items. When we checked the lost items, I didn’t like the feel of it. Fuel, Styrofoam, scrap tires, sugar... they’re gone."

• "...They’re really making it obvious what they’re planning, huh. These suspicious guys."

• "We’ll keep checking, since we don’t know what’s going to happen. If you notice anything suspicious, be sure to check it. Manhattan was one of the most accessible tourist spots before the incident."

• "Got it."

"...I thought we might get a chance to rest, but I wonder if something’s coming up again."

"Maybe. It’s always the knife in your back that hurts the most."

I nodded.

Just because we returned to Central Park, to Manhattan, didn’t mean rest was waiting for us.