Katsuo no Seibyou

[Asbestos]

Not far from a uranium mining facility on the snowy surface of Miura, a small and seemingly unremarkable building had newly been constructed, but already blanketed in ice. Identical to most of the observation outposts scattered around the planet, except for a small landing pad just a stone throw away from the entrance to the outpost.

However, appearances can be deceiving. While the exterior resembled any other outpost, the interiors were nothing of the like. There were no weather gauges, measuring instrument or even a communications station to be seen. All one could see, was an unmarked sliding door with a linked access panel on the wall next to it. Once open, the doors revealed an elevator with access to two floors. The entrance floor and a subterranean level.

Several hundred feet deep below the icy surface of Miura, the elevator would come to a halt. A corridor stretching for almost a hundred paces connected the elevator with a large blast door. Shuri Base had been painted on it, in large teal letters. As the correct sequence had been entered on the access panel located on the left side of the blast door, the door would open slowly, and one could enter a small room, much like a checkpoint. Once processed, granted one had access to the inner base, a second door would slide open. Stepping through the doorway, a surprisingly well-lit room would temporarily dazzle any visitors, until their eyes had been accustomed with the bright light.

The inner base, consisting of a large subterranean room, with smaller compartments connected to the central area. Holographic screens of Honshu cities were portrayed on the walls, creating a more lively atmosphere than the grey walls of concrete and steel plates that were hiding behind them.

Taro Katsuo, one of the Guild Master of the Gas Miners Guild had ordered the construction of Shuri Base, hiding it from sight of prying eyes. He had just arranged a circle of six chairs in the central room of the base, more commonly known as the kaigijou, and was about to send a message to his most trusted Aces. Men and women that he'd personally trained in nebula fighter combat and tactics, and who took great pride in serving their sensei. All of them devoted Guild supporters, and made famous in the Guild for their extraordinary combat skills. They were feared by their enemies, and rightly so.

A similar group of Guild Aces began their career shortly after the end of the Eighty Years War with the objective of ensuring that Kruger never recovers from their mistake by making repetitive attacks on Mannheim each time they managed to repair the station. The Guerilla Aces, as they were known, disbanded roughly eight years when the Guild Masters came to the conclusion that the threat from Kruger had dissipated, and now protection against the Hispanic forces were a more pressing matter. The group were spread out into the Paramilitary, but they were known to have set the standard of Guild Aces to be.

Taro had been organizing a group of his own, much resembling the Guerilla Aces. Their objectives would not be to harass rheinlanders, but the Corsair Empire! They would work in enemy territory, using the Guild Flagship of Ayakashi-Maru as their a base of operations, to resupply and repair when necessary. They would attack the Corsairs without warning, spreading death amongst their ranks. This would be no easy task for the average Guild pilot, but after all, Taro's Aces were no ordinary pilots. Eager to strike back at the Corsairs, whom were behind the death of his father, Taro had great trust in his Aces. Some of them might not return alive, but their undertaking will send a clear message to the Corsairs. Raids and attacks would not be tolerated against the Guild, and the men and women of the Gas Miners Guild would gladly die fighting foreign threats to ensure the safety of Sigmas.

With the click of a button, Taro transmitted the message to his Aces, labelled Katsuo no Seibyou, Katsuo's Elite.

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