Chapter 77: The Hidden War

While Clyde, Celes, Casca, and Corie were at the café and Craig was still at the hospital keeping Lyra company, down in the lower levels of the city, at the main underground rebel headquarters connected to the surface base, inside the briefing and war room, Selma, Mary, and Irena sat across from Walter, Ellie, and Oscar.

"Before we begin our discussion, let’s introduce ourselves once more, more formally than before. My name is Selma, former Neo Ark military, major rank, and now leader of the rebel forces," Selma stated.

"I’m Mary, former Neo Ark military, sergeant rank," Mary introduced herself.

Then they all turned their gaze toward Irena, who sat with her arms crossed over her chest, looking entirely indifferent with a cigarette dangling from her mouth. Realizing she was being watched, Irena snapped to attention.

"Ah... right. My name is Irena, former Neo Ark military and operative for New Leviathan, colonel rank," Irena said casually.

"Right, I’m Ellie. I’m now a deserter from the Utopia military; previously I was a captain in the intelligence division and of the angel race," Ellie announced.

"Ah... right, no need to mention races. We don’t look at things that way here," Irena reprimanded.

"Right, I understand," Ellie replied with a smile.

"I’m Walter. Just like my wife Ellie, I’m also a deserter from the Utopia military, a major from the sweeper division," Walter replied.

Then everyone turned to look at Oscar, who seemed completely relaxed. After that, they all turned their attention back to the front, but before Selma could open the topic, even though her mouth was already open,

"Ah... pardon me, I suppose I should introduce myself as well. I’m a military veteran from Utopia, inactive for thirty years, with my final rank being colonel in the mech infantry division," Oscar declared.

Walter and Ellie instantly snapped their heads around to look at Oscar, who remained entirely at ease while sipping tea from his glass.

"Wait... isn’t Dad a mechanic?" Walter asked.

"Yeah... I knew Dad repaired GEMA and armored vehicles, but I had no idea he was in the military," Ellie added.

"Before I met your mother, I was in the military, and it’s probably best left untold," Oscar answered with a smile.

"Very well. That means everyone in this room has a military background. As Colonel Irena said, ah, pardon me, Irena, Safe Haven is going to be a beacon for life on earth because a war is about to break out soon. So I need everyone in this room to help me manage this city," Selma declared.

"Is that true, Ms. Irena?" Walter asked.

"According to the intelligence I gathered from New Leviathan, yes. The gigas are starting to stir in Antarctica again, and movements have begun appearing on the moon. Meanwhile, Neo Ark is manufacturing GEAR using the bones, tissue, and brains of giants. To make this more convincing, I have already prepared materials from General Heindrich, who currently leads New Leviathan," Irena explained.

Irena placed her tablet on the table, displaying satellite imagery of giant movements in Antarctica, footage of activity on the moon, the GEAR production process at Neo Ark, and a secret hangar located within Neo Ark. Furthermore, as Irena swiped across her tablet screen, the eyes of Walter, Ellie, and Oscar went wide as they laid eyes on a secret project hidden beneath Utopia’s main city, which was actually a massive aircraft carrier capable of fleeing or launching attacks should war break out.

The faces of Walter, Ellie, and Oscar darkened instantly.

"How on earth did you get your hands on the Eden Project data?" Walter asked, turning to glare at Irena.

"Not many military personnel even know about that classified project... who on earth are you?" Ellie demanded, staring at Irena.

Seeing the reactions of Walter and Ellie, Irena smiled, took a casual drag of her cigarette, and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"Ellie, you were in the intelligence division, right? Surely you knew that New Leviathan and Utopia were supposed to be working together?" Irena asked.

Ellie fell silent instantly. She could only glance down at the tablet and then back up at Irena without offering a single word in response. Walter turned his gaze to Ellie.

"You... knew about that alliance?" Walter asked.

Ellie remained quiet, lowering her head in silence, but finally she turned to look into her husband’s eyes and gave a subtle nod. Walter rubbed his forehead upon receiving confirmation from his wife.

"In that case... the war that broke out a few months ago, when the Annuna kingdom attacked us and nearby New Leviathan sent in their GEAR..." Walter trailed off.

"The reason for the war a few months ago was that New Leviathan caught the giant kingdom arriving in Utopia with intentions of assisting, but an unexpected turn of events occurred," Irena said, glancing at Ellie.

"Yeah... it turns out Utopia and the Annuna kingdom colluded to drive out New Leviathan," Ellie confessed.

"W...what?" Walter gasped.

"That’s why I asked you to come back with me to my dad’s place in the main city... ever since the change in governors five years ago, Utopia has aligned itself with the Annuna kingdom under the guise of security," Ellie answered.

"Hah... security... what kind of security is that? We’re just going to end up as their livestock if things are like that," Oscar grumbled angrily.

"And from that war a few months ago, we obtained these photographs: the main city is actually a giant aircraft carrier. In other words, that underwater project was initiated by the new governor," Irena countered.

"That’s right, that is indeed what happened, but it’s restricted to military circles and specific government divisions because entry onto that ship will be strictly vetted later on," Ellie added.

"Wait, then what about... the cities outside the Main City?" Selma asked.

"They’re all left behind in their respective places and cut off from the main city," Ellie replied.

The room fell silent. Ellie’s final words lingered heavy in the air. Oscar’s face twisted into a sour expression, and Walter, who seemed to be learning about this for the first time despite his military background, looked foolish and slightly resentful toward his wife, even though he knew it was impossible for her to have told him given her confidential duties.

"Right now, Utopia is cooperating with Neo Ark... not with New Leviathan anymore," Ellie stated.

"And yet all the surviving cities in the world should be working together," Mary remarked.

"Not necessarily. There’s a reason why I left the Neo Ark military and formed the rebels to establish this city three years ago. Neo Ark is fiercely driven to liberate people from the farms without interference from the giant kingdom, and they’ve acquired a method to mass-awaken people sleeping in the farms using an apocalypse simulation. Now, on top of that, they’re building GEAR using giant body parts. So where do you think they got all that technology? It couldn’t possibly be a brand-new discovery," Selma argued.

"Hah... don’t tell me... Neo Ark is actually allied with... the giant kingdom?" Mary asked, horrified.

"They wake up the humans inside the simulation simply to increase their population and harvest victims. That’s why they use an apocalypse simulation that directly ravages the brains of the people sleeping inside it. They don’t care whether those people wake up insane or sane, because the ultimate goal is to use them as fodder for the giants. That’s why I infiltrated Neo Ark two years ago and became a spy on the inside," Irena explained.

"If that’s truly how things stand, the next war will be New Leviathan pitted against Utopia and Neo Ark allied with the Annuna kingdom, is that right?" Walter asked.

"Correct. That’s why General Heindrich asked me to bring those five children to Safe Haven and ordered me to build Safe Haven as a city for all living beings in the world, serving as a new beacon... he also intentionally sent operatives to infiltrate Utopia to satisfy the demands of the New Leviathan council, which clearly has its own agenda," Irena replied.

"Hmm... now I finally understand his true objective, and I must admit the general was right. Those five children and their robot are more than enough to crush the three factions uniting against New Leviathan, and if they were taken there, the council members with their hidden motives would certainly try to pull something with them," Selma noted.

"I get it now," Mary added.

They all fell quiet once more for a moment, but this time their expressions appeared somewhat relaxed because, without needing to say it aloud, they all understood that they now shared the exact same future goal and alignment. Then Walter turned to look at Selma.

"Indeed, this conversation has opened my eyes to a lot. So, what is our next plan of action?" Walter asked.

"It’s time we move on to the main topic. There are three things we need to discuss: first, how to store a robot of that size underground; second, how to handle our city’s perimeter defense; and third... it’s time for us to move out, liberate as many people as possible, and grow our population, whether from the farms or from other cities," Selma outlined.

After that, they began discussing the three crucial matters Selma had brought up, with the top priority being how to house the Chimaera Z-X within the underground city so it would remain inconspicuous and undetected by outside parties.