Mechagodzilla: Shiryu

-4-

"Akane Yashiro...you will be its pilot." Colonel Togashi said.

Akane just stared up at the enormous machine that was stationed in front of them. She couldn't believe that she was standing right in front of a machine that was a mechagodzilla. From what she remembered seeing and hearing, one mechagodzilla was built by Apex to fight the king of the monsters. The power and destructive force that such machine displayed was one to be reckoned with. A frightening one to be sure as its ruthlessness was evident when it displayed such vicious behavior. It would have easily taken the life from the alpha titan if it weren't for another titan to intervene; Kong from Skull Island. From that experience alone, and previous ones when someone fights a titan, it came to show that even the best and promising weapons were no match for the forces of nature.

Akane was almost lost in thought before she remembered what the Colonel said and nodded. "So, I will be using this machine to fight the titans, and Godzilla too. Is that correct?" Akane asked. She was diving into the thoughts of how bad she would probably do when in a real situation when Colonel Togashi replied to her almost immediately. "Not quite. The military has given requests for this kind of machine to be deployed along with the other prototypes in development as new weapons. However, we have designed it to be used for non-lethal purposes, such as exploration. It does have some optional arsenal that can be equipped with it, but it doesn't make this a weapon. We'd like to designate this machine, and the others, as Titan Containment Units. Or TCUs for short." he explained to Akane, turning his head to the side as they heard footsteps approach. "Those trigger-happy geezers can use it in whatever way they can, but it will be the same result. 'Nature points out the folly of man' as the old man used to say" a new voice said, two men and a woman approaching them. The voice from the person sounded very familiar, and when Akane faced them she instantly recognized two out of the three as her closest Monarch friends.

Those were Dr. Rick Stanton and Dr. Ilene Chen.

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Ms. Akane?" Rick said with a small smirk on his face. "No way...you two are a part of this?" Akane nearly exclaimed with a small smile appearing in her face, moving over to them to shake hands and give heartfelt hugs. "That's right. We thought that someone who had some experience in both Monarch and piloting would be the best option. And you seemed to be the best candidate." Chen said with a warm smile. "You shouldn't have. I could have easily gone back to regular Monarch operations." Akane said, still smiling with excitement as she had reunited with old friends. "Some would have thought so, but, let's be honest...who wants to become a paper person all over again? You should get some fresh air once in a while." Rick said with an incredulous eyebrow raise. "Alright. I think that is enough reunion for this moment, First Lieutenant." Colonel Togashi intervened in the conversation, right afterwards gesturing her to face the third man that accompanied the other two. "I would like you to meet Sam Coleman, director of technology for Monarch. He will be the one to give you details on your unit." The Colonel said, the man who went by that name stepping forwards and bowing down his head to Akane as she did the same immediately.

Colonel Togashi later dismissed Akane to stay with them so she could be informed of what she should do, while he went to the elevator to return to his office. "I don't think we have officially met as I don't tend to socialize much with others at Monarch." Sam said as he and Akane shook hands. "It's fine. It's an honor to meet you in person now." Akane said with a nod. They began discussing about the machine Akane would pilot, Shiryu, as well as its development. "The R-17 Shiryu. A joint project between Monarch and Kojima Electonics. Built with the first mechagodzilla as its linear base once it was shown by Apex, it is now fully operational and ready to be piloted for exploration purposes." Sam explained, having given Akane a tablet that showed her the basic information from the machine and its design.