Operation Valkyrie’s Gambit

  The aircraft was flying at extreme altitude, its speed something that could only be described as insane—7,200 km/h, also known as Mach 4. A velocity so immense it couldn’t be sustained for long, yet at that very moment it was the only thing keeping us alive. Through the windows, the curvature of the Earth was clearly visible, along with the way the blue sky slowly faded into black. There was no sun, no stars—only total darkness, fitting for the kind of secrets this flight was meant to carry.

  At that moment, I was aboard the special cargo aircraft C-17 Globemaster III, assigned to global infiltration missions under the codename “The Midnight Express.” An aircraft designed and built in secret for missions that would change the world one way or another. In every sense, this plane did not exist—there were no records, no footage, it belonged to no one. Today’s cargo: a fifty-ton robot and its pilot, headed straight into the center of the storm of ideas and unrest that Russia had become in recent days.

  As important and extreme as it sounded, the truth was that from the pilot’s cabin it all boiled down to flying in a straight line for several hours while watching the instruments. What I still couldn’t believe was that Rick Hunter was the one piloting the aircraft carrying me. The two of us were arguing in the cockpit, killing time and trying to take the edge off the nerves surrounding our mission.

  “Alright, sorry to interrupt the discussion, but we’re approaching the target area.”

  “You should start getting ready for the jump,” Rick said while looking at the map.

  “In twenty minutes, we’ll be inside the early warning system’s coverage area. When that happens, I’m pushing the speed to maximum. I’ll only descend and decelerate briefly for the drop—after that, I’m getting the hell out of there as fast as I can.”

  “If I’m lucky and don’t die, I’ll be in Prague in time for breakfast.”

  “You miserable bastard. I’ve got a full week of frozen ass and hell ahead of me.”

  “You can’t see it from here, but right now down there is the worst winter storm recorded in the last twenty years.”

  “They’re saying that yesterday alone, all the snow expected for the entire month of December came down.”

  “Well, nobody said I envied your position.”

  “Still, it’s not like I’m off the hook either. Technically, I have to stay on standby in case they need me to come back and pick you up to Japan.”

  “Go Fuck Yourself!” I said to Rick as I left the cockpit and headed into the aircraft’s cargo bay.

  In front of me was what looked like a black box. It was being monitored and prepared by several technicians—the final preparations for the jump. One of the technicians opened the pod’s hatch to allow me to enter the section where my Walker was waiting. Before getting in, I put on my winter coat and took my position at the Walker’s controls. I entered the startup sequence and sealed the robot’s operations cabin. All systems were online and operating under optimal conditions. Shortly after, the monitors powered on to further configure the onboard systems. While I was preparing the cockpit, harnesses, and the inertia reduction system, I received a call—so I answered it as I continued my preparations.

  “Crimson Empress here. Everything is fine so far.”

  “Final preparations and final jump approach in progress.”

  “Very well, everything is ready and in place.”

  “We have approval from the Alliance’s High Command to proceed.”

  “OPERATION VALKYRIE’S GAMBIT is greenlit.”

  “Prepare to proceed,” my mother said.

  The video showed my mother in an information room somewhere at Yokota Air Base. It appeared to be the global intelligence and monitoring room, with a massive number of screens and systems behind her. She didn’t seem to be alone—movement could be seen all around in the background.

  “Even though this mission is classified and high-level, that doesn’t mean you’re alone in this.”

  “Here with me is an entire team of experts ready to support you in any area you may need.”

  “You already know the pilot, Rick Hunter. He’s the one who volunteered for the mission—he didn’t even know what it was about. But I saw his name on the selection list, and since you recommended him…”

  “It seems you trust his abilities as a pilot, so I put him in charge of the aircraft.”

  “Besides him, there’s me. I’ll be overseeing the operation and trying to make sure everything is resolved in the best possible way.”

  “My codename for this mission is PRIEST.”

  It felt strange to see my mother introduce herself to me like that, but I also understood why she was doing it. After that, the camera shifted to another angle. It seemed to be the same room but with a different set of computers. I could distinguish the silhouette of my Walker, Crimson Empress, on the monitors—and next to them was Momo, waving.

  “After that, we have GLASS.”

  “You already know how capable she is. There’s no better person to be your personal engineer.”

  “She will be responsible for monitoring your Walker, your equipment, and assisting with repairs if anything goes wrong.”

  “I think it goes without saying, but with the winter storm, most of the data I receive may be inaccurate, so please try to share your status over the radio if you need help,” Momo said through her metal mask and nun-like outfit.

  After showing her, the camera shifted to another area of the same room. There, I could see an android from the Empire. I couldn’t tell whether it was Kazumi or Charlotte, but it was definitely one of the two.

  “The IDOL unit will be in charge of data processing and overall supervision.”

  “You already know how she works. Of course, she was going to be here with us.”

  “Don’t hesitate to ask her any questions you may have.”

  “We will help Papa on his way home!”

  “Please trust us once again. We will repay the care you gave us by taking us into your family,” the android said proudly, despite her monotone voice.

  The video changed again, this time showing a new woman I had never seen before. She was in what appeared to be the same room, but filled with various medical and monitoring equipment.

  “We know that your medical condition… is unusual for modern human medicine. However, the life of Damien Raven is a top priority.”

  “She has promised complete confidentiality regarding everything that happens during the mission.”

  “She will be responsible for safeguarding the health of our objective—and yours.”

  “Crimson Empress, this is Dr. Wakaba Takemi, codename PROVIDER. I need to review some medical parameters with you before the jump. Do you have a moment?”

  “Yes, of course. What do you need to know?” I said, sighing, already knowing what she probably wanted to talk about.

  “I’ve reviewed your biometric readings. They are… fascinating, to say the least—if not impossible.”

  “Your cellular composition doesn’t resemble anything I’ve ever seen. It simply doesn’t exist.”

  “According to this data, you are 99.9% pure water, with a few traces of minerals and unidentified energy signatures.”

  “There is no DNA and no organs—just mass.”

  “From a biological perspective, you are no different from the water in a bottle. You shouldn’t be conscious, let alone alive.”

  “From a personal perspective… You intrigue me more than I should admit.”

  “I know. It’s something I’ve had to deal with.”

  “I understand. And I’m sorry if this sounds invasive. My job is to make sure that both you and our objective survive this mission.”

  “But I must admit that, as a scientist, this is extraordinary and far beyond my knowledge.”

  “……”

  “That’s precisely why. I need to establish at least a couple of baseline parameters. Your vital signs are… negative. As in, you should be dead… already.”

  “According to my computers, the only data coming in is zero across the board. It doesn’t match any human profile.”

  “Body temperature: a constant 22°C. Heart rate: 0. Respiratory rate: 0. And yet you speak, move, think. You are a homeostatic system that defies all logic.”

  “Do you experience pain? Fatigue? Do you require nutrients or rest the way a human body does?”

  “I need something to use as a baseline.”

  “Yes—to all of that. I’m not human, but I can feel pain.”

  “I get tired, I can sleep, I feel pain, and I need to… ‘eat’ from time to time. Just not the way you do.”

  “She eats the same things as an average human.”

  “Don’t listen to her if she says she needs to eat a banquet for eight people—she’s lying.”

  “Don’t let her take advantage of the situation, or she’ll wipe out all the supplies in thirty minutes if you let her,” my mother said, anticipating my master plan.

  “Interesting. And how does this eating process work? Absorption of water? Exposure to energy? Do you just absorb a hamburger and that’s it? Do you have to use your mouth, or could you simply sit on the food and absorb it from that position?”

  “It’s complicated. And I don’t think it’s relevant to the mission.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry—sometimes my scientific curiosity outweighs my discretion. I just need to know the basics: do you have any specific medical vulnerabilities I should be aware of? Anything that could compromise you in the field?”

  “Extreme dehydration. I don’t lose water unless it’s to recover from injuries, but if I lose too much water, I weaken."

  "And… certain energy frequencies can disrupt my cohesion—electricity, mainly, from what I’ve noticed.”

  “Noted. I’ll monitor those parameters during the mission. If anything goes outside safe ranges, I’ll alert you. And, Elise…”

  “Even if your biology is a mystery, you’re a living being to me. And my job is to keep you alive. You can trust that I’ll protect your medical data with my life.”

  “I won’t spread what you’ve entrusted to me. This has all been… purely personal professional curiosity.”

  “…Thank you, doctor.”

  “PROVIDER, please. On this mission, we’re all just codes. Good luck out there. And try not to do anything that forces me to intervene.”

  “Living water… what a marvel. And what a responsibility,” the doctor said as she continued staring at her tablet in awe.

  I was surprised by the professionalism of the doctor my mother had chosen for the mission. I knew it would be difficult to find someone I could trust with the absurdities I had to live with, but somehow she turned out to be what seemed like the ideal person for the job. Despite how short our conversation was, it felt like she might be someone who could at least help me in some way.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  The camera shifted again, back to someone standing beside my mother—though this time, a mysterious silhouette appeared. A white, ethereal figure, always accompanied by her blue will-o’-the-wisp and her glowing, dead white eyes. It was Nanami, who, despite being a ghost, had still managed to be there somehow.

  “Since the target himself is Damien Raven, we know the deep psychological influence his wife, Rose Raven, has over him.”

  “We tried to find experts on her, but it turned out to be far more difficult than we expected—almost no one worked with her that we could contact.”

  “That’s why I had to get creative and ask for help from your first wife, Nanami.”

  “She, along with you, is probably among the only people who know more about her besides Damien himself.”

  “Her knowledge and friendship could be important in convincing him to leave.”

  “Her code name is GHOST.”

  “Hey! Why do I get that nickname?”

  “Can’t I have a cooler one? I was an empress, you know!”

  “Just because I’m dead doesn’t mean I have to use the name Ghost!”

  “What about something like King? Or The Great Gatsby!” Nanami said, a little annoyed.

  “Come on, sweetheart, just because you’re reading that book doesn’t mean you have to use it as a callsign.”

  “The idea is for them to be generic and unidentifiable.”

  “Besides, I only bought you that book two days ago—it’s just your most recent obsession.”

  “When I get back, I’ll buy you another one, okay?”

  “……”

  “Fine, but next time you’re getting me the entire Lord of the Rings saga!”

  “And when I say entire, I mean all the extra material—in physical copies!”

  “From what I read online, it’s one of the greatest literary sagas in human history, so I want to read it!”

  “How is it possible that with how important it is, you never gave me a single book from that series?”

  “Sorry, I thought you needed some time adjusting to living with us again.”

  “No excuses! I want my books!”

  “I still need to fill my living room library with good books!” the ghost replied affectionately.

  “Can you save your lovers’ quarrel for later, please?” my mother said, clearly tired of watching the interaction over the encrypted military radio.

  “Lastly, we also have another familiar face: War Lady.”

  “Mei Ling has experience with high-society circles and knows a lot about the Russian elite and other high-profile individuals.”

  “But more importantly, she’ll be in charge of your team—not the Walker itself, but firearms and field operations.”

  “She knows almost every weapon out there, suppliers, terrain conditions, and possible enemy tactics.”

  “Good to see you again, sweetheart.”

  “Be a dear and bring me a souvenir from there, will you?”

  “Don’t worry—if you check your phone, you’ll see a little gift in advance.”

  “And if you complete your mission, I’ll give you your reward in your room. I’ll make sure you have a good time with your seventh wife.”

  “Damn big dumb spider! Can’t you see she’s on a mission!?”

  “Save your man-eater comments for later! Elise has to focus!”

  “And don’t send her pictures—I already saw what you did in the bathroom a moment ago!” Nanami shouted furiously at Mei Ling.

  “Wait—what did you do?” Momo asked curiously but also shyly.

  “I’m sorry… I honestly didn’t know what to do!”

  “I’m so nervous I just thought about doing what I always do—sorry for acting like a femme fatale, it just slipped out.”

  “But I’m really here just for you, supporting you in whatever you need, praying for your safe return.”

  “So please, do your best so you can come back safely into my arms, okay?”

  “Oh… okay… I’ll check my phone later.”

  “Yeesh… Mei, I know your personality, and I was told how you were changed to be that way… lustful and provocative…”

  “But Elise prefers relationships that are a bit more tender and farther from human drama.”

  “……”

  “What she’s looking for is more cuddling in bed and less… action between the sheets.”

  “Since you’re one of her wives just like I am, I think a certain level of decorum is expected.”

  “……”

  “I’m not telling you to stop being who you are or to abandon your seduction, because I know it’s genuine with Elise.”

  “But this is a life-or-death mission, not the time for a romantic date,” Nanami said confidently.

  “Yes, sorry… I really am.”

  “I’ll try to be a better wife, more in line with what Elise actually likes.”

  “……”

  “Damn it… Girls… this is not the time for this,” my mother said, her face clearly exhausted from dealing with this day after day.

  “……”

  “Now, back to emergencies and all that.”

  “You’ll soon be in the drop zone.”

  “The descent target is a mineral quarry about 20 kilometers from Saint Petersburg.”

  “We can’t get you any closer, or the air defense systems might detect the aircraft.”

  “The quarry was open-air and has been shut down due to the harsh winter; now, with the civil war, it’s easy to assume it’s abandoned until further notice.”

  “It’s not a priority defense location, so no one will bother guarding it either.”

  “After the drop, you’ll need to travel west overland toward the city.”

  “There are currently clashes reported in the Ushaki region; they’re approaching the city as we speak, and the winter storm has only accelerated their advance.”

  “According to the latest reports we received, Damien Raven is still in his residence with no plans to leave.”

  “We’ve analyzed the situation, and unfortunately, the best escape route appears to be through the southern border with Kazakhstan.”

  “It’s almost 2,000 kilometers, but the western borders of the country are more heavily reinforced than ever since the uprising.”

  “They’re basically trenches with weapons pointed at both sides.”

  “We know it’s a terrible option, but doing nothing is worse.”

  “We believe we can contact a few collaborators who will allow you to travel by train at various points.”

  “Two thousand kilometers!? That’s not a normal distance! That’s not the size of a country—you’re asking me to cross a continent!”

  “Does the Walker even have enough battery for that!?”

  “Right now, the Walker is equipped with two high-capacity ARK cores.”

  “They should be enough to operate autonomously for nearly two weeks, even in prolonged combat situations.”

  “In addition to those, there are four more ARK cores that can be swapped between the Walker and the Ark Suit.”

  “They should last at least another two weeks with moderate use.”

  “In the worst-case scenario, Russian Walkers should be operating with ARK generators of the same model, though possibly lower quality—so you could steal them to resupply Crimson Empress in an emergency.”

  “With that, you should be able to make it,” Momo said as she showed me the energy consumption diagram from the tests she had conducted.

  “I think it’s a bit late now, but exactly how long do you expect me to be on this mission?”

  “They didn’t tell me, but I’m starting to suspect this is going to take more than a couple of days……”

  “I’m starting to regret this……”

  “If everything goes well, and most importantly if the trains aren’t delayed, you should be in Kazakhstan in about four or five days.”

  “If not, the estimates are close to two weeks.”

  “The good side is that you’ll be back before Christmas…….I think…..probably…..”

  “Don’t come at me with the most generic line about a war like “Being home by Christmas” or that crap.

  You know that’s a bad omen, right? Two world wars happened because people believed that!”

  “Does anyone know how my school grades are? I think I already messed up with the number of absences and my marks…..”

  “If that’s what’s worrying you, I’ve already modified your grades on the server.”

  “After a long process and some adjustments, I’ve managed to get your grades to the minimum passing threshold.”

  “So you won’t fail the year; you’ll just risk having to attend extra classes during the holidays if you don’t do well on the upcoming exams.”

  “Mei, the exams are in two weeks!”

  “How the hell do you expect me to take exams if I’m going to be stuck on the border between Russia and Kazakhstan?”

  “I did what I could, alright?”

  “I also couldn’t give a perfect grade to someone who has more absences than days attended.”

  “Even if you technically have albinism, that’s no excuse for missing so many classes.”

  “And do you think I enjoy being in a freezer all December!?”

  “I lived through ten continuous years on only one winter! And I don’t want any more ice in my life!”

  “Hello, good day, this is your pilot Rick.”

  “We’re near the zone, preparing final approach.”

  “All personnel to the cabin, please!”

  “Opening cargo bay in 30 seconds.”

  “Oh shit, this is my stop.”

  “We’ll leave this for later,” I said just before disconnecting the radio.

  The alarms in the Crimson Empress cockpit changed tone, an emergency light flashed inside my Walker’s cabin, and a sharp, constant beep pierced even the thick hull. On the monitors, the position indicator blinked red. “Launch position reached! Prepare for ejection in T-10 seconds!” Rick’s voice sounded distorted over the radio, but the urgency was crystal clear. Through the external view, only the blackness of space was visible, but on the tactical map, a massive white spiral—the storm—devoured the northeast. My heart beat in a rhythm that seemed to compete with the hum of the Globemaster’s engines. I gripped the controls, feeling the seat harness and inertia compensator adjust with a pneumatic hiss, the ARK suit hugging my body like a second metal skeleton trying to help with the load. I took a deep breath.

  “All ready, PRIEST!”

  “Crimson Empress is green for freefall!”

  A dull, metallic roar shook the universe. The plane’s rear hatch opened into a white hell. There was no transition. An abyssal silence, followed by a roar that was not sound, but the very force of the atmosphere tearing apart. The black pod, with my Walker in its belly, was sucked out like a seed spat by a god of metal. For a second, weightlessness was total. I floated in my seat, watching the Midnight Express, now a ghostly silhouette against the darkness, shrink and vanish in an instant, its engines leaving only a trail of heat instantly erased by the icy vortex.

  Then it fell. The descent was controlled violence. The pod spun on itself, stabilizers deploying with seismic creaks. Through the cameras, the world became a whirlwind of gray and white. Layers of clouds, like dirty blankets of torn cotton, enveloped me. The strike of the first jet stream felt like a giant punching my helmet. The temperature, even with insulation systems at maximum, began to plummet. Frost formed instantly on the edges of the external lenses. The only sound was the howl of the wind, a constant, sharp lament promising to freeze even the soul. I plunged toward a land I couldn’t see, in deadly silence. The countdown and the angle indicator on my HUD kept their relentless course.

  The HUD counter reached zero.

  A muffled blast, the heart of a mechanical beast exploding, shook the pod’s interior. Linear charge explosives sliced the container like a knife. The black walls tore outward, and reality erupted into a gale of blinding light and absolute noise. The relative silence of freefall was gone; now it was the roar of a furious atmosphere, the structural cracking of the Walker under brutal forces, and the high-pitched scream of the stabilizers deploying to the max.

  For a moment, the Crimson Empress, freed from its shell, spun wildly. The controls fought in my hands. Everything was white. White moving at impossible speeds. White pounding the helmet with the weight of the situation. System alerts blinked frenetically trying to report something I already knew, but there was no time to process them. Only instinct.

  Impact imminent. Impact imminent.

  The computer’s synthetic voice was drowned out by the final roar.

  A strong upward strike.

  The world stopped abruptly. A monstrous force slammed me into the seat. Air was violently expelled from my lungs. Every bolt, every circuit, every gram of my being screamed in unison. The sound was indescribable: the metallic groan of the chassis bending, the burst of active armor absorbing the unsustainable, the muffled explosion of fifty tons digging its own grave in snow and frozen rock.

  My vision blurred red from overload. The cold, which until then had been a distant threat, became an instant stab that penetrated even the ARK suit’s insulation. I had fallen into the belly of the storm.

  Then, behind me, the pod executed its final command.

  A fierce orange light illuminated the white night, followed by a heat wave that melted snow in a twenty-meter radius. The explosion wasn’t large, but it was precise and voracious. A dull whoomph, and then the consuming crackle of thermal fire, designed to leave only indistinguishable slag and ashes. The flash reflected on my Walker’s lenses, now partially buried in the crater of its own landing, painting the falling snow with hellish tones.

  The Crimson Empress shuddered with the shockwave. Integrity alarms sounded as systems checked themselves, but the core remained solid. The engines, with a pitiful whine, responded to my commands.

  I breathed, a thin stream of cold water running down my simulated back. On the HUD, minor damage on the torso and right leg plates. Nothing critical. Outside, only an impenetrable white blanket, the wind howling like a pack of wolves, and the smoking hollow where minutes earlier a high-tech capsule existed.

  I was alone. Buried in the deadly silence of wintery Russia, with two armies between me and my objective, and a debt to a ghost hanging around my neck. I gripped the controls. The Walker’s joints protested but obeyed, lifting the torso from the hole with a sound of breaking ice and fatigued metal.

  “PRIEST, this is Crimson Empress,” I said, my voice strangely calm for what I had just done.

  “Successful landing, commencing winter ride.”