December 15, 2025 — 02:48 AMMOA Complex – Hangar 4
The MOA Complex was silent, cloaked in darkness. Most of the base slept, save for the scattered periter patrols and rotating rooftop snipers scanning the distant coastline for movent. But at Hangar 4, sothing massive stirred.
The lights were off inside. Only the amber glow of the overhead hazard strips lit the hangar floor.
At the center sat the C-17 Globemaster III—designated for this mission as Atlas One.
Fully loaded. Engines cold. Ramp closed.
Standing just outside the lowered crew ladder was Thomas Estaris, dressed in full Overwatch flight gear. His helt was clipped to his side, gloves already on. Beside him, Reyes checked over the last of her navigation data, flicking through the map tablet by the faint red light of her visor.
"Final pre-flight status?" Thomas asked.
"All green," she replied. "Fuel at 100%. Wind vectors are stable. No radio traffic. We're clear all the way to Japan."
"Good, I don't want any mishaps during the flight."
From the cargo side, Sergeant Li and Tech Mira secured the final crate straps with magnetic locks. Velez, the drone tech, moved into the crew seating module carrying a sealed black case that held the primary uplink drone.
Everything was in place.
Everything had been rehearsed.
Thomas stepped back and looked at the aircraft.
She was ready.
"Load up," he said.
03:02 AM – MOA Runway Alpha
The hangar doors rolled open in near silence, revealing the dark runway lit only by faint taxi lights embedded into the concrete.
The C-17 taxied out slowly, its wheels whispering across the hardened surface, guided by auxiliary ground lights and handheld signals from a stealth-marked Overwatch marshal. There were no sirens, no floodlights. Just calm, smooth motion.
Inside the cockpit, Thomas took the left seat. Reyes was already running final checks.
"Comms offline. Switching to beacon-only," she said.
"Copy," Thomas replied. "Navigation locked. Slope factor confird. Engine sync green."
"Throttle?"
He slid it forward an inch.
The engines ca alive—not in a roar, but in a low, powerful hum that vibrated through the cabin. The Globemaster began its slow roll to the runway.
Back in the hold, Li checked straps again and radioed forward. "Cargo secured. All systems nominal."
"Confird," Thomas answered. "Mira, prep for initial sensor sweep."
"Aye."
"Velez?"
"Drone ready for deploynt," he said. "Powering containnt lock."
The runway lood ahead.
Reyes checked the ti. "Zero-three-thirty."
"Perfect."
Thomas took a breath and eased the throttle forward.
"Let's go."
03:30 AM – MOA Complex, Runway
The C-17 Globemaster III accelerated with surprising smoothness for its size. The tires hissed. The wings flexed slightly under lift stress. The heavy airfra surged forward like a beast uncaged.
"Throttle up," Thomas said.
"Full burn," Reyes confird.
Speed increased. Wind rushed against the fuselage. Inside the cargo hold, the gear didn't rattle—everything was strapped and bolted. Li and Mira braced.
"V1," Reyes called. "Rotate."
Thomas pulled back on the yoke.
The nose lifted.
Wheels lifted.
Ground fell away.
And the Globemaster soared.
"Gear up," he said.
"Gear up," Reyes repeated, toggling the switch.
They were airborne.
And just like that, Overwatch was in the sky.
04:12 AM – 9,800 ters above Luzon Strait
The sea below was black and silent. The sky above cloudless. The moon shone over the C-17's wings like a faint silver halo.
Thomas kept one hand on the controls, the other resting beside the auto-stabilizer.
"All systems holding," Reyes said. "Course stable. ETA to Japanese airspace in one hour and forty-seven minutes."
"No signs of Bloom movent?"
"None. We're well outside tracked zones."
He nodded.
In the back, Mira monitored pressure gauges and flight temps, fingers moving across the touchscreen panel. "Engine readings normal. Hull pressure holding."
Li added, "No vibration from the pallet mounts. She's flying clean."
Thomas looked out the side window.
There was no traffic. No radio noise. Just sky and silence.
"You ever think we'd be flying across an ocean again?" Reyes asked, voice softer.
Thomas kept his gaze forward. "No. Not like this."
05:48 AM – Nearing Japanese Airspace
"Crossing into Hokkaido air corridor," Reyes said. "Ti to drop to approach altitude."
"Bring us down to five thousand," Thomas replied.
The aircraft descended gradually. Clouds rushed past the cockpit windows. Frost kissed the edges of the canopy. Below, mountains stretched like frozen waves—white, jagged, and endless.
In the hold, Velez secured the drone launch panel. "Signal burst loaded. Drone set for activation on command."
"Standby for touchdown," Thomas said over the comms. "Final check. Everyone strap in."
One by one, they confird.
"Cargo secure.""Diagnostics stable.""Drone locked."
Reyes tapped her console. "Visual on the ridge. Beginning final vector."
On the screen ahead, the Japanese mountain airstrip ca into view—a flat, narrow ridge marked by soft glows and small blinking beacons. Primitive, but present.
Thomas adjusted their descent angle.
"She's narrow," Reyes muttered.
"We'll make it."
The wind buffeted them lightly. Not enough to throw them off, but enough to remind them that this was no airbase.
This was a mountainside.
"Flaps down," Thomas said."Flaps set.""Gear down.""Gear deploying."
The ridge lood closer.
Then—
"Touchdown."
06:01 AM – JSDF Enclave Ridge Airstrip
The C-17 Globemaster touched down hard, tires biting into the gravel-covered soil with a thump that echoed across the mountain.
The airbrakes deployed.
Dust shot up in long trails.
The aircraft rumbled, slowed, then ca to a full stop just a few ters from the edge of the strip.
Inside the command bunker, Japanese officers scrambled to their feet.
"They landed, they landed that big plane in our airstrip."
Outside, soldiers ran from dugouts and observation posts toward the aircraft.
It sat in the early dawn like a tal titan, its hull glinting silver under the rising sun.
The rear ramp lowered.
Steam hissed from the exhausts.
And then Thomas Estaris stepped out onto foreign soil, flanked by Reyes and Li.
The Japanese soldiers froze.
He raised a hand in greeting.
"Overwatch. We're here."
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