One week after the world has gone insane. Around one of New York suburb's sinkholes.
When the earthquakes hit, New York was one of the few cities in America that got hit the hardest by the tremors. The ground cracked open, swallowing people and buildings whole, leaving behind pits dozens of meters deep. The excavation efforts to dig up buried survivors have been an ongoing monumental task. Yet, emergency services and military personnel have been toiling day in and night out without rest. They've been stretching thin so much that every single abled body is conscripted in the recovery effort. Working around the clock and under terrible conditions, these men and women are at the end of their rope when relief arrives. The leader of the search and rescue group is then promptly notified by a Private covered from head to toe in dirt.
Stepping out of the makeshift HQ formed up by large military tents, the excavation leader, a grizzled white man wearing the patch of Major, scrunches his nose at the new arrivals. The relief unit in front of him is of multi-ethnicity, with its leader being an African descendant. Just that fact alone has caused the Major to think of all sorts of derogatory greetings. Despite the recent honeymoon period between the US and Belka, prompting the former to place down more and more regulations against racial discrimination, one can't expect to change a mindset that has been deeply ingrained in a nation's populace for years. That said, for a military Major to be where he is right now in peacetime America, the man knows when to take a step back to advance two steps forward.
Right now, his subordinates are running on fumes, they have been drowning themselves in a cesspool of harmful matters. They could really use the rest right now. And perhaps a little pick-me-up if they still have anything left to raise the morale.
Standing face to face with the relief group's leader, the Major speaks up first. "I would open up by saying that I don't like you people. If this had been a normal occasion, I wouldn't have let your group come in and interrupt our work, Senator Armstrong's backing or not."
The Major then sighs. "But this..." He gestures to the ruins around them. "This is not a normal occasion. The US of motherfucking A got hit with the worst natural disaster in her history. Now, it's all hands on deck, and that means your people are included too. It also means that I need to kick my ego aside if I want to save as many of my countrymen."
The Major looks at the person across him in the eyes. "So I think it would be fine for me to say this... I am Major Wilkins. To whom am I speaking?"
The black man in front of the Major speaks up after a few seconds of staring. "Roman Conti, leader of the New York Voluntary Division." Roman offers a hand towards the Major, his demeanor unreadable. Wilkins stares at the offered hand for a couple of seconds before shaking it. Roman smiles at that. "A pleasure to make you acquaintance in this trying time, Major. I've come bearing gifts of manpower, supplies, and medical equipment. More importantly, we have construction materials to prop up emergency shelters. It would help keep the homeless away from this shitty atmosphere."
Major Wilkins sighs, looking up at the smog-filled sky. "Aye, the last thing we need is a plague outbreak. The ash-fall from Yellowstone impacted New York quite hard, only God knows just how bad is the area around it."
Roman knows just what the Major is worried about. "You can't walk outside without wearing protective gear. And the farmlands have been impacted severely from what I've heard. Senator Armstrong commented that we may need to burst out of the national grain reserve to keep the population fed. There are also talks about importing food from lesser affected regions. However, the silver lining here is that there's not much lava spewing, so the affected lands can be reclaimed, given enough time. The saddest part is the lives impacted by this tragedy that befall our nation."
Major Wilkins nods ruefully at that. "I got a brother in Nebraska. Haven't been able to hear from him ever since Big Yellow went off..." The Major said while gazing despondently at the West. It's unclear what he's been thinking when he asks. "You got someone over the yonder, Conti?"
Roman stares in that direction, answering. "A couple of my good pals, have been there to visit their siblings in Kansas."
Major Wilkins smirks despondently. "Heh, then I guess both you and I have someone to worry about." Turning around, the Major gestures to the command tent. "Enough chit-chat, we still got work to do."
"Lead the way, Major. You're the one running the show." Roman ceded the overall leadership to the man, respecting his rank. It doesn't mean that he won't contest any foolish decision, however.
Major Wilkins nods. "Damn right, I am."
-------------------------------------------------------
Two weeks after the world has gone insane. Tenkuu no Shiro, otherwise known as Laputa, the castle in the sky.
In the grand chamber of the Heavenly Court of Imperial Japan, Gods, and Deities from all walks of life of the Japanese mythos are stuck in a fierce debate. Divided into two camps, the Moderate, and the Ultranationalist, the grand chamber is a mere stone's throw away from descending into an all-out brawl.
The circumstance around the debate has been the matter of allowing disaster supplies to territories affected by unforeseen natural disasters. Lands governed by Japan, even the ones overseas, were struck in one safe or form to various degrees of damage from moderate to severe. Most of Imperial Japan's mainland territories and their island colonies like Karafuto Prefecture, Taiwan, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Caroline Islands, and the Marshall Islands, all got hit by tsunamis. Earthquakes also raked across the Japanese colony of Chousen and Manchukuo over the Korean Peninsula and the Chinese mainland. Unlike the Americans' experience with the Yellowstone volcano, Japan is lucky to have the aid of Sakuya-Hime and her shrine maidens. As the Goddess of Mount Fuji and all volcanoes in Japanese mythology, Sakuya-Hime headed the effort to calm down the active volcanoes, thus lessening the damage Japan had incurred. Without her, it would have been safe to say that half of Japan would have been smoldering ruins or ten leagues beneath the waves.
After an entire day of handling and debating the disaster relief protocols, Amaterasu, flanked by Vill-V, has had enough. "Order in the Court!" With a slam of her palm on the fragrant sakura wood table, a wave of golden particles washed over the chamber, silencing the Gods and Deities. "We're esteemed and civilized beings, start acting like ones!"
Overlooking the gradually cooling down atmosphere on her chamber master seat, Amaterasu sighs, having grown annoyed and tired. "This discussion has been getting nowhere. From what I've seen, two major opinions are going about in this chamber. One is to purely direct our resources to aid in revitalizing our Japanese populace. The second is to spread our resources across all disaster-stricken areas. Both options have their pros and cons."
"If we go with one, we'll be plunging the colonies into turmoil in exchange for the stability of the mainland. If we are to follow through with the second option, we'll be stretching ourselves thin to be effective. As such, I have a proposal to make." Amaterasu's words earn her the undivided attention of the people in the chamber.
"We'll go at this with a combination of two options. Right now, it's crucial that we allocate a sizeable portion of our remaining reserves to rebuild our homeland. If our people start losing faith in us, all sorts of trouble will follow. Troubles at home mean you can't even think of pacifying our external subjects. That said, we can't exactly leave them hanging either. We will dedicate just enough of our resources to stabilize the affected colonies. Not enough to get them on their feet just yet, but enough to remind them that we're still around. That should keep them placated till we rebuild enough of our reserve to start widespread reconstruction across all territories." Amaterasu proposed, earning thoughtful nods from many of the Gods and Deities.
Amaterasu is not gonna stop there, however. She has been working on her mental gymnastics for this one. "To help further stabilize our influence overseas, we should work on enlisting some of the local populace that are sympathetic to our cause. Work with them to secure the regions, reward them for their efforts, and make them up as positive examples for others to rally behind. While the rewards aren't much currently, it should be enough to entice further obedience until the economy is recovered. Depending on how effective these indigenous figureheads are, we can uplift them to a new semi-noble rank of Honorary Japanese. The rank serves as a promise of better treatment and opportunities in their field of work, even setting up a property in mainland Japan won't be out of their reach. Such a promise will empower the overseas population to be loyal to us and be rewarded accordingly. Of course, strict rules are to be developed to ensure proper fairness in this uplifting process. We can't have this backfired on us in this trying time."
By the end of her speech, Amaterasu has earned herself the visible support of other Gods and Deities, judging from their nods and calm murmurs. It's a good plan of action that can be easily employed once proper oversight is in place. Looking around the chamber, Amaterasu sees that no one is displaying any obvious disagreement. Hence, she speaks up. "All in agreement with us further elaborating on this course of action?"
Collective nods and affirmative words are the response, it leads to Amaterasu gently curving her mouth upward. It totally isn't because of Vill-V interlocking her fingers together with Amaterasu's as a show of support and congratulations. "Wonderful. Then let's draft the basics of the plan before the night settles in."
As the chamber descends into a fervor, but respectful discussion between peers, a certain God of the Storm bides his time in a recluse seating. Susanoo has been in the discussion since the very beginning, yet, the great God has never joined even once. Others chalked it up as him not wanting to partake in a matter not of his facets or that he would rather let the Ultranationalists do the talking. Only Susanoo himself would know why he has chosen to remain silent, even with Amaterasu's proposal going around.
'Perhaps it would be best to inform them of this discussion.' Susanoo thought to himself while looking at Amaterasu and Vill-V. 'If we twist the knife just right, Japan would see and be blinded by immediate profits, but will soon stand to see true terror in the future. By then, if Japan does not shed its decaying shell and conform to her rule... Then it would seem to me that Takamagahara is truly unsalvageable.'
Giving Amaterasu a look of pity, Susanoo thought. 'This is the way, sister of mine. Two tigers cannot share a mountain, you're just unlucky enough to have the odds stacked against you. Much less your idealogy has been faulty from the very start. You can't expect mortals to bide their time, worshipping us, while waiting for us Gods and Deities dictate their very lives. Even with wisdom of the mistakes from the past, stagnation will breed in time. Stagnation leads to corruption until the very foundation is rotten to the core. By then, it will take another Ragnarok to cleanse everything.'
'I, for once, have had enough of an apocalypse to last for an entire existence.'
TFTC!
The large gears have begun to turn once more...
foreshadowing
TFTC
