POV: Torterra
My condition was very terrible. My bones were broken and my internal organs were in constant pain. You could say that I miraculously survived. Falling from space is painful. (Raleigh and Mako didn't tell him he was dead. Torterra thinks he just passed out.)
Fortunately, when I woke up, there was some radioactive object lying next to me. Seeing it next to my face, I instinctively ate it. Before, I did not dare to eat radioactive materials because they were waste in my mind. Eating waste was unpleasant. But it looked delicious at the moment.
It was fun to watch Jaeger next to me frantically looking for this item, but eventually he calmed down. He must have guessed that I ate it.
A day later I could stand. So I decided to leave there. Unfortunately, I was given a job. It was necessary to destroy the mountains around Antarctica in several places. It was cruel to make a wounded man work.
After finishing work, I slowly sailed to the Marshall Islands, where I could rest in peace. When I arrived, I was met by Ruby. And next to her were several other turtles. They were all smaller than her.
[Hello.] I said hello to this group of "little" turtles. They were afraid of me and stayed away from me. But Ruby immediately pounced on me and, standing on her hind legs, kicked my legs.
[Carefully! Everything hurts.] I said as Ruby leaned against my legs. The cracks in my bones ached from all the pressure. It was very painful for me to walk.
[We all thought you were dead. One of the Titans recently declared himself the new Alpha.] Ruby said.
[It was Leader.] One of the turtles said, hiding his head between the trees.
[He quickly! I haven't been buried yet, but they are already fighting for my place. I'm glad it was Leader, but what about my order? The titans didn't touch humans when they thought I was dead?]
Everything hurt so I took Ruby in my arms and placed her next to me before laying on my stomach and relaxing on the sand.
FUUSHSH
A strong rush of air escaped my nostrils as I exhaled in relief. My breath blew sand and caused the plants near me to sway.
[I don't know, but when this Leader declared himself Alpha, he said that the previous Alpha's order still stands.] Ruby said. She had never seen Leader and was not familiar with him. She playfully came up to me and lay down next to me awkwardly pushing me with her armor. The other turtles also relaxed when I lay down.
[I'm was not dead, by the way. I passed out after falling from the sky.] I exhaled heavily.
[Did you fall from the sky? How is it? How did you get there? Is there land in the sky?] Ruby was curious. She stretched her neck, looked me straight in the eyes with the hope of hearing an interesting story.
I smiled. I enjoyed telling Ruby different stories.
After a dramatic pause, I replied, [I've been to the moon!]
But Ruby just tilted her head to the side.
[Is that the round object flying high in the sky? Can we fly there?] Ruby was very interested. She only admired the moon and the stars and never thought about what it's really are.
[The humans made a device for me that allowed me to fly there. The moon is something similar to our planet, but much smaller and it flies around us without falling. There is no air and there are no clouds in the sky. There is no sky at all! Only a boundless space of gray sand and stones. On the moon, you can jump high and lift very heavy objects. And also, if you hide in the shadows, you can see many stars that glow in different colors!] Despite the painful end of my journey, I can a lot to tell Ruby and her friends, who were hiding nearby and listening to us.
As I recounted my adventures, I somehow felt that my mind was at rest. I haven't been able to talk to someone like that for a long time. The last person I had fun with was Harry. After spending a lot of time with Yun, Ruby got a better understanding of many things, so talking to her was quite fun.
I told her how I used a new human device, how I got into the vacuum of space, about my extraordinary speed of flight and how I first set foot on the moon.
The young turtle listened with dreamy eyes. I could only marvel at how much Ruby's consciousness had evolved. For me, she was no different from people. Just as smart.
Having spent the evening like this, I finally fell asleep.
POV: Marshal
The plane's engines were humming. Marshall was returning to Alaska. He had a frown on his face. His gut told him that Dr. Newton was up to something.
When Marshal asked him to come to the forum, he agreed, albeit with a sour expression on his face. So why didn't he come? And more importantly, why didn't he warn anyone that he wasn't coming? Such thoughts made Marshal ponder over Torterra's words, "…Keep an eye on him!"
Could it just be negligence on the part of the doctor? Or maybe he really is a potential enemy who should not be trusted. Anyway, Marshall was flying to him to find out. If Dr. Newton simply forgot about the forum or forgot to say he wasn't coming, Marshall would be very angry. He did not have time to change the diapers of undisciplined and arrogant scientists.
His plane landed in the square in front of the main entrance of the base in Alaska. The rear compartment of the plane opened and Marshall slowly got out. A group of people in military uniform gathered in front of the plane, and they all saluted him. Yancy stood next to them.
"Sir! This is a group of soldiers that have been selected for the super soldier program," Yancy said loud and clear. Although he had a high position and managed a factory in Europe, he did not want to be relaxed when outsiders were around. Yancy held a digital tablet with brief files on each soldier.
"Be Free. Are the costumes ready for them?" Marshall asked as he walked over and took the tablet from Yancy's hand. The soldiers, hearing the order, relaxed and lowered their hands.
"Yes. Ten suits are ready, as I promised you. Most of these soldiers have experience fighting the White Thorns and have already tried on the suits. These soldiers have been assembled at this base for training and will proceed to Acapulco with your approval!" Yancy reported briefly. The city of Acapulco was still infested with White Thorns. With the new exoskeletons, the soldiers will be able to undergo their first baptism of fire there.
Taking the tablet, the marshal began to read information about these soldiers. Everyone was silent, waiting for him to read their data. The soldiers stood bravely with their heads held high.
"I see many people from different countries here. Some of them haven't even seen a Kaiju! What it is? What is this, the planet's national football team? This one doesn't even know English!" The marshal showed a photo of one of Yancy's soldiers. He was furious.
"How will they communicate with each other? Do you trust them with super expensive suits and not even know if they'll soil themselves when they see the White Spikes? I need not the best of the best, but those who fought with the Kaiju!"
"Sir, this is the first such squad and all its members will go down in history. Each country wishes to have its representative among this group. I thought the main criteria was experience…" Yancy tried to justify himself, but Marshall cut him off.
"That's right, experience is the main criterion. You still need to learn to send the desires of these stupid politicians to the ass! Mr. Yancy! Our job is to win the war, not to satisfy the needs of various countries in their desire to go down in history."
Almost half of the soldiers were sweating. They had no experience fighting the White Thorns and felt that they would be driven out. They will return to their countries with shame, where they will be punished. No one will understand that nothing here depended on them.
Marshal pressed something on the tablet. After a minute, while everyone stood in silence, he showed Yancy the tablet.
"I want him and everyone who fought with him to be in this team. If there are 10 men left of his squad, then take them all!" With that said, Marshal handed the tablet to Yancy and walked towards the entrance of the base.
Looking at the tablet, Yancy frowned. There was a photo of some unknown soldier from Mozambique. This guy's name was Joao and he had several awards for distinction in the war with the White Thorns. These awards were issued by local authorities.
Looking at the information that was available, Yancy was surprised. Joao survived terrible radiation sickness and participated in many battles. It was not known what his characteristics were before the disease, but after it he became a master of shooting and his combat power was at a high level.