A Gravestone for Rats

It was a peculiar room. From the four walls to the ceiling and floor, everything within the "six directions" was pitch black. Not even the cracks between the walls were visible.

No, were there even cracks?

Out of boredom, Mei started pondering the room's geometry. Perhaps it was ten, a hundred times larger than it seemed, making the cracks invisible. Or perhaps it was a hemisphere.

But regardless of its shape, one thing was certain—it was pitch black.

Then again, the Mei here wasn't physical, just a projection.

Mei looked at her pale hand. When she looked up, a human-sized, gray-white metal plaque had appeared. It looked like a gravestone, except it lacked a portrait, and the crimson characters weren't birth and death dates.

[SEELE]

[01]

Then, more "gravestones" appeared clockwise around her, numbered from [.01] to [.13], forming a circle.

"My my! If it isn't Dr. Mei!"

The instantly recognizable, flippant voice from [12] revealed its owner—Lucien.

But Mei wasn't surprised. Such meetings had been held more than ten times in the past year and a half. She knew everyone's identity: eleven high-ranking officials from the United Government, plus Lucien and Vashak. Yet, they insisted on this cloak-and-dagger routine.

"Ahem!" [.01] cleared its throat, presiding over the meeting. "Now that everyone's here, I declare the twelfth evaluation meeting of the Fusion Soldier Project Control Agency, SEELE, officially commenced. Dr. Mei, as the initiator of this meeting, please present your proposal."

Silence descended for three seconds—just enough time for Mei to steeple her fingers beneath her nose, her voice muffled. "I assume you all know what I'm going to say. Yes, you've heard this proposal eleven times—I request SEELE's approval to perform Parvati factor hyper-fusion surgery on Kevin, Captain of Fire Moth's First Squad."

"Then you should also understand! We cannot approve your proposal!"

"A surgery with less than eight percent success rate is pointless!"

"Humanity isn't that desperate yet!"

"Dr. Mei, every proposal targets Kevin. We have reason to believe you're abusing your position for personal gain!"

Mei had grown accustomed to these accusations, reciting them from memory. At first, she'd been angry, then numb, offering no rebuttal to the old men's contradictory and nonsensical arguments.

But this time, she wouldn't back down. A year and a half! It had been dragging on for a year and a half!

Six months between the 2nd and 3rd Eruptions, six months between the 3rd and 4th. Now, a year and a half had passed since the 4th. Every day increased the likelihood of another Eruption exponentially.

Did humanity stand a chance against the 5th?

Mei didn't think so. The memory of the 4th Eruption was still fresh, its helplessness amplified with each recollection. Although it had been an emergency deployment, Mei had since devised several optimized strategies. But none allowed humanity to defeat a Herrscher with just their own strength, their own technology…

No, that wasn't entirely accurate. If humanity were willing to deploy on a massive scale…

The thought sent shivers down Mei's spine. She couldn't, wouldn't, back down any longer.

"Humanity isn't desperate?" Mei tilted her head. "Have you seen a Herrscher? Fought one on the front lines? Witnessed the devastation they wrought in Irkutsk, Cang Hai, Nagazora, and ARC City? To conclude 'humanity isn't desperate' based on armchair theorizing… With all due respect, humanity isn't desperate, but not because of our own capabilities. It's because a Herrscher who should have destroyed us stood in our way!"

"You… you… Are you saying we're utterly helpless against the Honkai without the 1st Herrscher? What about our battleships? Our mechs? Vashak! Lucien!" [.06], flustered by Mei's retort, called for backup.

[13] remained unresponsive. After a while, Vashak's raspy voice came through. "Sorry, everyone, I was in the restroom. What happened?"

Lucien just coughed twice, acknowledging his presence, then went silent.

"Ahem! Dr. Mei, perhaps you misunderstood." [08] smoothly covered for his teammate. "We're not against the Fusion Soldier Project. If we were, SEELE wouldn't exist. The problem is, Dr. Mei, according to your model, Captain Kevin's surgery has less than an eight percent success rate. That's practically zero."

"So, Minister Taro's point is, humanity isn't desperate. We can upgrade our technology until the success rate reaches fifty, eighty, even one hundred percent, then perform the surgery. Captain Kevin is a valuable asset, rising from an ordinary soldier to First Squad Captain in just two years. We shouldn't risk his life on the operating table."

"Besides, if I'm not mistaken, Captain Kevin is also your boyfriend, Dr. Mei? You wouldn't want him to die on the operating table, would you?"

Mei adjusted her glasses, her voice flat and emotionless, like a broken record. "First, my personal relationship with Kevin is none of your concern. Kevin fully supports my decision. He's willing to undergo the surgery…"

"But we all know Kevin never refuses your requests, Dr. Mei!"

Her words were cut short. Mei paused, then continued, unfazed. "Eight percent is already high. To date, Fire Moth has conducted 683,207 live experiments. Only 302 subjects survived, and they only fused with lower Honkai beast genes. Their combat effectiveness is barely comparable to a fully equipped soldier, perhaps even weaker—once unshackled, they're more likely to attack their own kind than the Honkai."

"But all this data is from you! We can't verify its accuracy…"

"Enough, Minister Taro! Stop wasting time!"

[.01] finally spoke, shutting down the argument. But Mei, long accustomed to this, felt no joy.

"Alright, Dr. Mei, if there's nothing else, you may leave. SEELE needs to discuss your proposal further. We'll give you our answer in due time."

Mei, expecting this outcome, couldn't hide her disappointment.

But she didn't leave. She looked up defiantly at the pale gravestone. "Secretary-General Keel, one last question."

"Go ahead."

"If the 5th Eruption happens tomorrow, what will we use to defend ourselves?"

Minister Taro replied, "We have battleships, mechs, we…"

"The 4th Eruption proved those are useless."

"We still have the Silver Bullet!"

"How many will it take to kill a Herrscher? Ten? A hundred? We don't know how powerful the 5th Herrscher will be, nor the Silver Bullet's effectiveness. Even if it works, how do we repair the damage? The Silver Bullet is a suicidal weapon! What are we sacrificing? The Honkai loses a disposable puppet. We lose actual…"

Click!

Mei was kicked out of the chat before she could finish.

"Pointless." Vashak grumbled, logging off.

"Hmph, Lucien, is everyone in Fire Moth so arrogant now? Do they think humanity is helpless without them?"

"Not at all! Dr. Mei made some valid points. For example, if an Eruption happened tomorrow, without the 1st Herrscher, our conventional forces are insufficient against a Herrscher."

"So, you support Mei?"

"No, no, no! Minister Taro, we're old friends. No need for pretense. You oppose the surgery on Kevin because you don't trust him, a non-"insider," to be the first Fusion Soldier."

"You!"

"Audacious!"

"Insolent!"

"Secretary-General, it's time to put Fire Moth in its place!"

"Just disband them! The United Government has its own military!"

Lucien chuckled, a mocking laugh directed not just at them, but at everyone. "Let me guess, you don't even trust your own people, right? Imagine, those test subjects, fused with just lower Honkai beasts, are comparable to trained soldiers. What about a Sovereign-class beast? If Mei controlled that power… no, if anyone else controlled that power, none of you would sleep soundly, hahaha!"

"Lucien, you…"

"But you're afraid to die, afraid of the current surgery, so you stall, hoping for a one hundred percent success rate—ninety-nine point nine isn't enough! Then, you will become the first Fusion Soldiers… Pfft, hahaha! Hahahahaha!"

"Lucien! What about you? Don't tell me you don't think the same. Otherwise, you could have approved Mei's plan from the start. Your family could easily afford it! Why bother forming SEELE?"

"You wouldn't understand. Goodbye!"

Lucien disconnected.

"Hmph! Fire Moth! What a bunch!"

"Keel, what are you waiting for? It's time to deal with them!"

"What's with Lucien and Vashak? We were counting on them to help us control Fire Moth!"

"Do they really think humanity is…"

"Ahem!" [01] coughed twice, replying flatly, "We'll see. The 5th Eruption is coming."

With that, [01]'s projection vanished.

… … …

"Hmph, pathetic." Vashak slumped in his chair, inexplicably weary, weary of everything.

The Honkai, humanity… Heh…

An encrypted message popped up on his screen. He scanned it quickly, then fell into thought.

"If I'm not mistaken, as Fire Moth's commander, I can deploy up to five personnel without going through the usual channels, correct?"

He muttered to himself, then pressed a button on his desk.

"Chief."

"Have Captain Himeko come see me."