Istana Merah Muda Utara Palace, Sukato City, Yuwano Island, Taufan Province
Taufan Province Crisis Meeting
0300 Hours
Present: Gubernur Bulan Hortono, Regional Secretary Claudia Binjori, Vice Gubernur Luna Dong, and Assistant for Municipal Police and Public Safety Isaac Muham.
The meeting had stretched deep into the early morning hours.
Outside, the provincial capital was quiet, but inside the governor’s office the atmosphere was tense. Reports, intelligence summaries, and emergency directives covered the conference table.
Gubernur Bulan Hortono sat silently for a moment, reviewing the latest developments.
“The central government is moving against us,” she finally said. “Perhaps not today. Perhaps not tomorrow. But they are gathering information.”
No one disagreed.
The recent biological crisis had created confusion throughout the Kingdom, but confusion never lasted forever. Investigators would eventually begin asking questions.
Questions about the village massacre.
Questions about the disappearances.
Questions about several other incidents that should never have happened.
Bulan looked directly at Isaac Muham.
“Our greatest concern is the narrative,” she said. “If witnesses begin talking, everything unravels.”
Isaac nodded grimly.
“I understand.”
“Then make certain there are no witnesses left to tell a story.”
The room fell silent.
“And the evidence?” Claudia asked quietly.
“Destroyed,” Bulan replied. “Every document. Every recording. Every physical trace.”
Isaac folded his hands.
“It will be completed today.”
The governor leaned back in her chair.
“Good.”
Another file sat on the table.
The name on the cover was Winoto Yaochung.
A troublesome man.
A man who knew too much.
Isaac glanced toward the file and then back to the governor.
“Arrangements have already been made,” he said.
Bulan nodded.
“This morning?”
“Yes.”
The assistant’s expression remained unchanged.
“Mr. Yaochung is expected to be involved in a tragic accident.”
For a moment nobody spoke.
Vice Governor Luna Dong stared at the table.
Regional Secretary Claudia Binjori avoided looking at anyone.
Finally, Bulan broke the silence.
“The people will never understand the choices we have been forced to make.”
She closed the file.
“But they will survive because we made them.”
Outside, thunder rolled across the distant mountains as the meeting continued, and plans were set in motion that would leave no witnesses behind.
Taufan Crisis
0330 Hours
Istana Merah Muda Utara Palace – Security Operations Facility
The night shift was usually quiet.
Rows of operators monitored radar screens, security cameras, and communications networks beneath the sprawling palace complex.
Then one of the radar technicians frowned.
“Sir, we’re getting a fresh radar return from the harbor.”
The watch commander looked up.
“A radar return? From the port?”
“Yes, sir.”
The technician zoomed in on the contact.
“It appears to be a large vessel near the edge of the harbor.”
“Commercial traffic?”
“No, sir.”
A pause.
“Radar indicates multiple small contacts lifting off from the vessel.”
The commander stood.
“Lifting off?”
“Affirmative. Dozens of them.”
The room immediately grew tense.
“Report it to Sukato City National Airport. Ask if they’re expecting inbound traffic.”
A communications specialist made the call.
Several seconds later she shook her head.
“No scheduled arrivals. No authorized flights in that sector.”
The commander stepped closer to the display.
“Where are they heading?”
The technician tracked the contacts.
A line appeared across the screen.
The operator’s face went pale.
“Directly over the city.”
The commander stared for a moment.
“Spool up the defense systems.”
The room erupted into motion.
Operators began entering commands.
Status indicators changed from green to yellow.
Then another technician spoke up.
“Sir, additional launches detected.”
The commander turned sharply.
“From the same vessel?”
“Yes, sir.”
The number of airborne contacts doubled.
The commander no longer hesitated.
“Take all defense systems active.”
A klaxon sounded throughout the facility.
“Wake the security detachment.”
Another operator tracked the swarm.
“They’ve altered course.”
The commander narrowed his eyes.
“To where?”
The answer appeared on the screen.
The palace.
The operator swallowed.
“They’re heading directly for us.”
The commander grabbed the intercom.
“General alert. General alert. All personnel to emergency stations.”
He looked at the tactical display.
The swarm continued inbound.
“Weapons free.”
Outside, the palace defenses awakened.
Remote weapon stations rotated toward the sky.
Targeting computers processed hundreds of contacts simultaneously.
Each drone was identified, prioritized, assigned, and engaged in milliseconds.
Missile hatches concealed within gardens, rooftops, and decorative structures snapped open.
Short-range surface-to-air missiles erupted into the night.
Brilliant streaks of fire crossed the darkness.
Explosions blossomed above the city.
The first wave of drones vanished.
Then the close-in defense systems opened fire.
Gatling guns and autocannons filled the air with streams of tracer rounds.
The sky became a web of fire.
Drone after drone disintegrated.
Burning wreckage rained down onto nearby streets.
But some got through.
A handful slipped between the defensive fires and descended toward the palace grounds.
Moments later a pale mist began spreading across the gardens.
Inside the command center, warning lights flashed red.
BIOLOGICAL ATTACK DETECTED
A deafening alarm filled the facility.
Protective shutters slammed over windows.
Blast screens dropped into place.
Ventilation systems shut down automatically.
Emergency filtration units activated.
Massive fans pressurized the palace interior, preventing contaminated air from entering.
Personnel scrambled for protective masks as emergency protocols took effect.
The commander watched the cameras.
Outside, the white mist drifted through fountains, gardens, and courtyards.
Nobody knew how much had gotten through.
Nobody knew what agent had been released.
The only certainty was that the attack had reached the palace.
And somewhere out in the harbor, the ship that launched the drones was still waiting in the darkness.
Taufan Crisis
0338 Hours
Istana Merah Muda Utara Palace
Agent Namohaji touched a finger to his earpiece as a transmission crackled into his ear.
His expression hardened.
Across the room, another security agent received the same message.
They exchanged a glance.
Then both men entered the Governor’s office without knocking.
The emergency meeting was still underway.
Gubernur Bulan Hortono looked up from the conference table.
“What the hell?” she snapped. “You don’t just barge into my office. This is a classified meeting. Get out.”
Namohaji remained calm.
“I’m sorry, Governor, but we have a security situation. We need to move you to the vault immediately.”
The room fell silent.
For a brief moment, Bulan’s mask slipped.
Are they coming?
So soon?
She had expected days.
Perhaps weeks.
Not tonight.
Around the table she saw the same realization reflected in the faces of Claudia Binjori, Luna Dong, and Isaac Muham.
Namohaji stepped forward.
“Ma’am, we have to move. Now.”
Before anyone could argue further, the night outside exploded.
The windows flashed white.
Missiles streaked into the darkness beyond the palace grounds.
A fraction of a second later came the detonations.
The entire building shook.
Booms echoed through the palace as defensive missile batteries opened fire.
Then came the roar of automatic weapons.
Cannons.
Machine guns.
The sound was constant.
Relentless.
The palace was under attack.
Steel shutters slammed down over the windows.
The sudden pressure change made everyone’s ears pop.
Red emergency lights began flashing.
Alarms wailed throughout the building.
BIOLOGICAL ATTACK WARNING
Namohaji immediately grabbed the governor by the arm.
“We’re leaving.”
The meeting dissolved into chaos.
Officials, aides, and security personnel flooded into the hallway.
As they hurried toward the elevators, Bulan felt a strange irritation in her throat.
A faint burning sensation.
Her eyes watered.
She rubbed them.
Probably stress.
Probably smoke.
Nothing more.
The elevators arrived.
Everyone crowded inside.
The last person aboard was another security agent carrying a weapons case.
He opened it and began handing out compact submachine guns to the protective detail.
The elevator doors closed.
The descent began.
Nobody spoke.
The only sounds were the hum of the elevator and the distant echoes of alarms.
Then Isaac Muham sneezed.
Once.
Twice.
He frowned and removed a handkerchief from his pocket.
When he lowered it, dark blood stained the fabric.
The others stared.
“Isaac?” Luna asked.
He looked confused.
“I don’t—”
Another cough interrupted him.
This one sprayed blood across the floor.
The elevator suddenly felt much smaller.
Much quieter.
Bulan swayed on her feet.
The room spun around her.
Her vision blurred.
The dizziness struck without warning.
She collapsed.
Several agents rushed forward.
“Governor!”
Namohaji dropped to one knee beside her.
“Get a medic to the vault immediately!”
The elevator continued downward.
Floor after floor.
Isaac began breathing harder.
His chest rose and fell in rapid, uneven gasps.
Veins stood out beneath his skin.
His eyes became bloodshot.
Then something changed.
A horrible sound escaped his throat.
Not quite a cough.
Not quite a scream.
The elevator reached the vault level.
The doors slid open.
Before anyone could react, Isaac moved.
With impossible speed.
His hand shot out and seized one of the agents from behind.
The man’s eyes widened in shock.
Isaac’s grip crushed the agent against him.
Then he lunged forward and buried his teeth into the side of the man’s neck.
Blood sprayed across the elevator walls.
Screams erupted.
Weapons came up.
The nightmare had arrived inside the vault.
