Shattering Humanity-Chapter 408: Amphibious Assault On Kami Island: The Embarkment

Chapter 408: Amphibious Assault On Kami Island: The Embarkment

"To yield is to preserve the whole.

To be misjudged is to be straightened.

To be hollow is to be filled.

To be battered is to be renewed.

To be in need is to possess.

To be abundant is to be confused.

Therefore, the saint embraces the ’Oneness’ as a standard for the world.

The wise one is not prejudiced, hence he is enlightened.

The wise one is not self-opinioned, hence he is outstanding.

The wise one does not boast of himself, hence he shall receive the credit.

The wise one does not praise his own deeds, hence can long endure.

Because the wise one does not conflict with others and therefore the world cannot contend

against him.

It is not true as the ancients say, ’To yield is to preserve the whole?’

Thus the ’Oneness’ will be honored to him." -Tao Te Chang Chapter 22

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{Current Day, 12 P.M.}

As SeiõrSnow continues to fall from the cloudless blue skies, a coordinated naval strike group sets sail in formation from their post apocalyptic port out of the world famous maritime city, New Bedford.

Their course, South through the open neck of Buzzards Bay, and out to the Atlantic Ocean.

The small offensive naval fleet consists of two heavy artillery ’destroyer’ warships serving as the main defense for the outrageously gigantic amphibious assault ship behind them. The infantry transport is complete with it’s own defensive artillery, as well as an underneath well deck for smaller amphibious crafts to enter and exit on.

Trailing in the wakes of the massive maritime monster are two small but nimble supporting gunboats. One on each side of the much larger assault vessel, and both escorting a single small supply ship.

Finally, exiting the only opening last, is a separate Marine Amphibious Unit behind the rest of the small naval fleet heading for Takamagahara’s controlled beaches.

On board the "MAU", standing at the bow, Jesse James’ trench coat blows in the ocean winds as she looks out towards the blue ocean.

Her boarded warship is the last to sail through the only opening to the

Each of the active troop transporting aquatic vessels are heading South towards Kami Island, less than 11 nautical miles away.

A small percentage of cheering, arm waving people within Vinland’s safely contained Eastern borders have shown up by the hundreds to see the aquatic vessels off on their mission.

Echoing across the water, there are horns and whistles of encouragement coming from the crowd of ’apocalypse survivors’ taking up most of the space available on the paved hurricane barrier.

Part of the massive group, sitting in lawn chairs on the edge of the hurricane barrier are two men in there early 50’s. One is completely bald wearing jeans and a tight fitting racing T-shirt while the other has a receding mullet and is wearing an auto mechanics uniform with the name tag reading ’Dale’.

As the rest of the loud crowd around the two lightly sunburned, crows footed, patriotic old men sit in their portable chairs, drinking beers with a cooler between them.

Bald Man: "There he goes. Off to fight the good fight.

I really can’t believe it.

The kid just turned sixteen, but my boy is going to battle for the greater good as an E3 Marine."

Dale: "Hehe, and that’s just cuz if he goes any higher in rank, they’d have to start paying him, but he’s also too young to be paid under the Sheriff’s ’Labor Laws’.

Too young to get paid.

Too young to drink with us..."

The auto mechanic finishes the rest of his beer and chuckles at the ironic morality of the current system.

Dale: "...But just old enough to kill or die for freedom and peace.

I always knew that kid would be special someday.

You should be proud, Leo."

Under the bright afternoon sunlight, the proud father smiles so big, his cheeks turn pinker than his sunkissed face.

Leo: "I’m ever so grateful that goddess found the time these past few years to help him set a new military precedent."

In unison, the drinking buddies take a swig of their beverages and Leo thinks to himself while looking at the ships getting further away.

Leo: "Ever since that boy swore his allegiance to her, Vegetius has visibly changed in a reassuring way.

You know me Dale.

We were raised Catholic, and I don’t really care for the whole thing anymore..."

Sitting in the loud, water rushing well deck of the large battleship, a single Vinland soldier with a black mask covering the lower half of their face, and an infantry helmet protecting his skull, is sitting alone in on of the ship’s amphibious landing crafts. The mentally locked in soldier is the first one prepared for the initial unloading and invasion of the enemy shores.

Both of his azule blue eyes have a familiar depressed, and tired quality to them. He stares at the floor of the landing watercraft beneath his boots.

Leo’s Voice: "...But when that boy told me with all seriousness he views Ms. James as the actual Messiah..."

The soldier lifts his head and his blue glistening eyes shed tears that roll down his cheek to get absorbed by the facemask.

Leo’s Voice: "Well, when he said that out loud, I could’ve sworn I heard my mother roll in her grave somewhere, haha."

Putting their empty cans in a plastic bag full of already finished beers, the exposition spilling Dad opens the small travel cooler between them and tosses a cold one to his pal.

Leo: "...But, I will admit, I do have her to thank for my son’s positive spiritual guidance and building his strengths to get him to be as successful as he is now..."

As the warships get further away the crowd begins thinning. More and more people are leaving the walkable barrier and Leo grabs a cold one for himself and cracks it open, finishing his sentence before taking the initial sip.

Leo: "...Even after she became our Complete Military Commandant and became responsible for saving whatever is left of this world."

While half of the barrier’s crowd has dispersed, the two men stay in their portable lawn chairs.

Taking a sip from his own beer, the man with a thinning hairstyle, Dale, burps and shakes his head in disapproval.

Dale: "The paper this morning said there was a retaliation and escape yesterday by a few ’preliminary citizens’ in the prison."

Leo: "Honestly, I don’t blame em, Dale.

Under the Sheriff’s ’Yassa’ laws, all saved survivors are sent to Kami Island where they register themselves as protected citizens. Then they have a choice between joining the military or living in the prison during a ’cooperative service period’, forced to go back and forth everyday by ship during their labor hours."

Dale: "Yea I’m not proud of what our country has to turn into either..."

He takes another swig of his alcoholic beverage.

As they are currently talking about the state of their post apocalyptic politics, behind them is a man is carrying all the bags for a family he is following.

The ’servant’ is wearing khakis and a button up, but the work shirt has a distinct patch on the chest. The patch has an analog clock and a lightning bolt behind in the background. On the face of the time telling instrument is a large G and the hands are on "5:01".

Dale: "...but we both know it is quicker to deplete the resources needed to have a comfortable environment than meet the rising demands."

Leo: "People like us we were here before the Yassa laws were implemented, so we never had to subject ourselves towards something as dehumanizing as ’servitude’.

I know you’ve noticed it too, Dale. The reestablished sense of a toxic social hierarchy in the atmosphere.

Discrimination between the privileged and property.

Even if some of us wanted to reassure those forced to work that everything will be okay, we have all been forbidden to tell them or mention the laws in the same room as anyone wearing one of those patches."

Leo: "So that’s what started this whole thing?

No wonder it was an emergency response then.

Was anybody killed?"

Dale(nods): "Unfortunately.

But if you want my opinion, that probably ain’t the complete reason for half our availabile military being on course for that island."

Leo: "Yea, but you’ve always been a conspirator, Dale."

Dale: "Aye!

I’m telling ya, it ain’t no coincidence our country’s space center is within pissing distance of a big name movie studio!

But this ain’t like that, there was more in the newspaper."

Back in the well deck of the large warship, the identity concealed soldier pulls his right sleeve cuff up to his elbow.

It reveals a tattoo on the back of his wrist.

In dark blue ink is 3 connected dots, and a small, black inked, open circle in the middle of the equilateral triangle.

Dale’s Voice: "One of our scouting helicopters got shot down and crashed.

The pilot survived but he was taken prisoner by a group of violent survivors.

We are already short on certified air pilots as it is, but the guy who was captured is seen as a more valuable piece to the Sheriff for just that reason alone."

When the man turns his hand over it reveals another, much larger tattoo down his forearm.

An impressive, highly detailed, black and white image of a beautiful, fully grown oak tree, with certain sentiment items softly resting within the healthy tree’s green cushion of leaves. A baseball mitt, a bicycle, a kite, and a pair of yellow owl eyes peering out from the covering of foliole.

Dale’s Voice: "While attempting to get him back, the Sheriff identified at least two separate organizations on that land.

Neither of them are willing to cooperate with the new regime."

The infantryman’s sad cold blue eyes stare at the permanent inking. After seeming to talk himself into accepting his duty the active soldier closes his eyes while taking a deep sigh through the cloth over his nose and mouth.

Deeper inside the traveling warship, on call soldiers are either getting mentally prepared in a focused silence, still appropriately suiting up for a forceful invasion, or chatting and laughing. Those of the latter broadcasting their mindset to this ’cakewalk’ of a mission.

A few troops have Vinland’s sleek, lightweight, and chrome versions of the Anti-Icemen Gear strapped to their hips.

Those with the heat retaining swords are part of a separate military unit dedicated to taking out the alien Icemen who are otherwise impervious to bullet fire.

Dale’s Voice: "For the past few years, the Sheriff has been seen as the only one who could not only save massive groups of survivors, but also defeat massive hordes of aliens in doing so.

But Kami Island ended up designing the first functional weapons to fight back against those damn Levites and it’s not until recently that our men got the technology here on the mainland."

There are other soldiers, a majority in fact, equipped with rifles and other tactical weapons designed for human on human warfare.

Dale: "One of the terrorist leaders is a convicted war criminal who was serving a 300 year sentence in the island’s correctional facility. Since those two factions of savages have probably wiped out the limited number of ’Levites’ on their secluded land, they are now trying to rule over one another and getting the island’s unfortunate survivors involved."

Leo: "Damn, that long?

What was the charge?"

Dale: "Paper said he was solely responsible for a building falling on helpless women, children, and elderly while being ambushed on a patrol."

The mechanic finishes his beer and releases a disappointed sigh.

Dale: "Can you believe the world we live in, Leo?

If the end of the God damned world ain’t enough to completely unite humanity against a common enemy, then what the Hell can?".