WARNING! WALL OF TEXT INBOUND
Ginza District Gate Post 253A, Tokyo, Japan
An average day in Tokyo, crowds of people moved to and fro, some on their way to their respective jobs, others shopping, or already working. People walked along the sidewalk, merely feet away from a still-new chainlink fence that surrounded a huge area. It had been months since the Gate had opened, and still little was known about it; the Japanese and American governments knew only that both it needs to be carefully contained, and that it functions as a sort of two-way transportation between the Earth and the so called "Special Region," but very little is actually known about how it functions. The gate itself is a huge stone archway that seems to lead only into pure darkness, around this building are countless military units and fortifications as a precautionary measure. The gate also has a checkpoint guardpost in front of the structure, where at least two soldiers are to be on duty at all times to monitor all incoming or outgoing military traffic.
The site also held a barracks, a vehicle depot, and an assigned Regimental Headquarters that military higher-ups tended to call home.
Inside Regimental HQ
"Sargent Masunune, reporting in sir." the young man spoke in a quiet tone, not hushed but at a lower decibel. The man he was required to report to was higher ranking than any he had met so far in his military career. Only two stars adorned his cap, but his rank demanded respect either way. He was a short, stocky Japanese man with graying hair, though the way he held himself was like a man who has seen war, that would make Kaygo think twice of striking him in a dark alley.
"Sargent, I'm sure you're curious why I've called you here today, and I can assure you that your presence here, on our own side of the gate, is vital." Lieutenant General Kouichirou Hazama stated in a flat tone as he held a finger atop his cap.
"I cannot share every detail as of yet, but as an attached part of the third recon unit I have authority to assign special duties to you and I must exercise this authority at this moment. A regular convoy of goods being transported from the Special Region to Japan has mysteriously disappeared while on it's regular route. There was no sign of them on the route and there was no radio contact except a brief check-in, an hour later when our radio operators attempted to reach them after they failed to return a hailing for their estimated ETA, there was no response. A brief time passed and a search & rescue group was sent to look for them but came back with no trace of their presence anywhere. Given your history with both Special Forces training and extensive first-hand experience in the Special Region, you are the most viable candidate at the moment to perform a stealth reconnaissance operation of the nearest city of Italica and make sure that the locals aren't holding our people captive behind our backs." General Hazama spoke in a quick, harsh tone, something that Kaygo had experienced many times before from countless teachers and commanding officers, whether directly or indirectly.
"Any questions Sargent?"
Kaygo remained silent, standing at attention and standing so perfectly still, a show of discipline that had been dug so deep into him it was more akin to instinct now.
"Good. You'll move out in the morning, see the quartermaster and give him this," General Hazama grabbed a pen and scrawled a quick note, he signed it, stamped it, and folded it neatly before passing it to Kaygo.
"Dismissed." Kaygo saluted, then left the room.
The Next Morning
Kaygo awoke as he would any other day; a quick shower, breakfast at the mess area that consisted of vegetable ramen, rice, and sugared coffee. He preferred tea, but sometimes he needed a jolt in the morning to stay awake. The day did not unfold as others though. He brought the note General Hazama had given him to the Quartermaster Sargent Ichiwa, who read it and took a strange look at Kaygo. He crumpled the note in hand and hobbled towards the back of the armory, grabbing several small items and one rather large one.
"Grab a pack from the wall and pass it here, I'll fill it up for you." the quartermaster stated as he set down a long metal cylinder on the counter. A Barrett .50 caliber anti-materiel rifle with a long range scope, a bipod attachment towards the tip of the barrel, and a carrying strap. A few minutes passed while Kaygo waited for the quartermaster to get all the equipment he needed for his field kit. He finally was able to put it together, and was set on his way to the gate.
There it was, the threshold. He showed his Military Identification to the men in the guard station, they pointed him on his way after confirmation. Crossing the gate had never seemed like much to Kaygo, in his mind the Special Region was virtually identical to the Japanese countryside, minus the fire breathing dragons and other mythical creatures. Here it was, once again. He would have ridden a tank or an armored troop transport into the region most crossings, but today he decided he would go on foot, the same he did his very first time crossing the gate.
But something was different, something was off...
The darkness of crossing that once seemed fantastical and enlightening, now seemed dreadful and wrong. He shrugged it off, and kept walking through the pitch black.
Minutes passed, and finally, he could see light ahead of him. A feeling of ease washed over him as he grew closer and closer to the other side. He increased his pace to cross the threshold, and after a moment, he broke through it, the light fading into regularity as his eyes adjusted and he saw...
An empty field. Immediately, any feeling of ease was replaced with a powerful sense of dread. This was not the other side of the gate, this was not Alnus, it was empty and undeveloped, while Japan's foothold in the Special Region was well constructed and expansive, it was a small city at this point, and this field, obviously, was anything but Alnus.
Kaygo whipped his body around, but the gate was gone. Never before had anything like this happened, no one had ever crossed through the gate and ended up anywhere but the other side, and with the gate still standing behind them. Internal panic began to set in, but Kaygo took a breath and remembered his training. He immediately reached for his radio and called in, but there was not a reply, only static.
After several moments of struggling to no avail, Kaygo began to give in to the stress. He looked around for anything familiar. To the east of him, perhaps a half a kilometer from his location, he could see a city. And almost as soon as he laid his eyes upon it, several buildings within the city collapsed. Kaygo followed his first instinct; whether he knew where he was or not, this was a place where something troubling was happening, he began to move towards the city.
After a while of running, he stopped and began to observe from a safe distance, he could see through his binoculars that a small group of strange beings and large men were duking it out in the middle of town, much to the dismay of the local governance. Kaygo would not interfere unless he was dragged into the incessant violence, though he could not help but feel for the locals whom must play host to these dangerous characters.
