Weapon System in Zombie Apocalypse-Chapter 213: Flight Briefing

November 24, 2025 — 7:10 PM

MOA Complex – Briefing Hall B

The lights in the room hummed softly overhead. At the center stood a rectangular table surrounded by five Overwatch personnel. They were quiet, attentive, their black field uniforms unmarked except for role tags on the shoulder—Pilot, Co-Pilot, Loadmaster, Systems Tech, and Drone Ops.

At the head of the room, Thomas Estaris stood with a tablet in hand, facing the team. Behind him, a screen displayed the silhouette of a C-17 Globemaster III, its broad wingspan stretched across the projection like a shadow over the world. Along the sides of the image were columns of specifications—fuel capacity, operational range, payload volume. Technical data that, to the untrained, meant nothing. But to this team, it was the foundation of the mission ahead.

Thomas didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to. They were already listening.

"We depart in twenty days. Wheels up at zero-three-thirty, December fifteenth."

He looked at each of them one by one.

"Callsign will be Atlas One. Primary destination is a secure highland enclave in northern Japan. Approximate flight time: four hours and thirty minutes. One trip. No stops. We're not hauling in drops—we're hauling in infrastructure."

He tapped the tablet once. The display behind him changed. Now the map of East Asia filled the screen, a red path arcing across the sea from Manila to a small plateau nestled among the mountains of Hokkaido.

"You've all seen the terrain report. That ridge is short, uneven, and doesn't meet any traditional airstrip standards. We'll be bringing down a Globemaster on it anyway."

He turned to Madel, seated second from the left.

"You'll be in the co-pilot seat. Your job is to manage descent telemetry and monitor lateral drift during final approach. If we're off by more than ten meters on touchdown, we don't land—we crash."

Madel gave a crisp nod. "Understood."

"Sergeant Li," Thomas continued, turning to the man beside her, "you're loadmaster. We're carrying close to fifty thousand kilograms of relay towers, hardened shelters, and recon kits. The landing must not shift a single crate. You will personally inspect every tie-down before we take off."

Li responded without delay. "Affirmative."

"Tech Operator Mira," Thomas said, looking next at the woman with short-cropped hair and a calm expression. "You're handling flight systems mid-air. Power routing, diagnostics, and backup comms. If anything goes offline, you'll know it first."

"Yes, sir," she replied.

Finally, Thomas turned to the last in the row.

"Velez. You'll be launching the primary drone the moment we land. You have ten minutes to deploy it and sync to the local comms relay. No wide-band pings until you confirm that ridge is secure."

The drone operator gave a quiet "Copy."

Thomas stepped away from the table and circled around to face the display again.

"This mission is bigger than supplies. Bigger than recon. We're about to create the first real cross-border Overwatch link. Until now, we've been isolated. We've had no confirmation that anyone outside the Philippines survived—at least, not in a structured form. That ends with this mission."

He tapped the screen again. The Globemaster image reappeared—this time surrounded by overlays of labeled crates, equipment manifests, and modular cargo bay sections.

"You're not just a flight crew. You're the bridge. You're bringing the systems that will let Japan link to us permanently. That includes three hardened drone relays, two modular antenna towers, solar grids, and twenty sealed supply packs for long-term fallback."

He paused, letting the silence settle.

"No one else in this world can do what we're doing."

He returned to his side of the table and picked up a thick folder. Inside were mission assignments, printed backups of the manifest, and sealed ID tags.

He handed them out one by one.

"This is your packet. Study it. Learn the cargo list. Know where every crate is positioned. If the situation on the ground changes, we may need to adjust drop procedures manually."

Madel looked through her papers, flipping to the contingency landing page. "Site Bravo still good?"

"It is," Thomas said. "If the main ridge is compromised, we fall back to Bravo—two kilometers east, flatbed clearing near an abandoned radio tower. It's tight and unconfirmed. If we have to go there, we dump the gear and evac immediately."

Mira asked, "What about enemy presence?"

"Low to none," Thomas said. "Japanese enclave confirmed no infected activity within thirty klicks. Still, once we land, engines stay warm. If something moves, we don't play hero. We lift off."

He looked at all five again.

"You are not to split up once we're on the ground. No side excursions. No venturing into the enclave without clearance. Madel and I will handle coordination with their leadership. Everyone else stays with the bird."

There were no objections.

Thomas continued.

"There will be no escort aircraft. No backup. We're flying solo."

He tapped the screen one final time. The mission name appeared at the center: PHASE II: RISING ARC

"If this works, we'll establish a long-term foothold in Japan. From there, maybe Korea. Maybe Taiwan. This flight is the beginning of that chain. So don't treat it like just another haul."

He turned off the screen.

"That's all for now. Next engine test is in forty-eight hours. Madel, Li—you'll join me for the simulator run tonight. Everyone else, review your packets and be at Hangar 4 by 0600 tomorrow for crate verification."

The team stood and saluted in unison—an Overwatch custom, not by tradition, but by protocol. No one spoke. They simply left the room with their assignments in hand.

Only Marcus remained, watching from the side of the room.

Thomas glanced at him. "Thoughts?"

"They're solid," Marcus said. "No doubts. But I noticed something."

"What?"

"You're not delegating this one. You're flying it yourself."

Thomas nodded. "Because if we're going to deliver a message to Japan, it has to come from the one who sent it."

Marcus crossed his arms. "Then let's make sure that plane lands. Let's go!"