November 27, 2025 — 8:46 AM
Northern Japan – JSDF Enclave Ridge Airstrip
The cold wind blew through the pine-covered ridgeline, sharp and biting as it slipped through the cracks in the hastily reinforced tents and concrete outposts surrounding the mountaintop. At the edge of the plateau, a stretch of hard-packed earth extended outward like a defiant scar—the airstrip.
Still uneven in places, partially covered in makeshift mesh, and far from regulation, it was the best they had.
And it would have to be enough.
Sergeant Sato knelt beside one of the runway marker poles, hammering it deeper into the ground with a handheld mallet. The yellow fabric tied to the pole whipped violently in the wind. Behind him, a small group of workers—JSDF holdouts and enclave volunteers alike—were spreading another layer of crushed gravel across the western edge of the strip.
He stood, stretching his back as Warrant Officer Nishimura approached with a tablet.
