Liquid Gear 3 (Patreon)

Liquid Gear 3 - Or ‘Where is the fucking instructions for this big ass robot?!?’ (Metal Gearverse, Liquid!SI)

There are a handful of things that can stun a man like Kazuhira ‘Master’ Miller, and the situation he was currently facing was quite the case.

It all started a few months into this new commission. After the wack job in Rhodesia, he had taken up the task of assisting the MPLA against UNITA. The job was not meant to last long considering the resources he had at his disposal, but the fact that Cipher and XOF was working together with UNITA meant that the effort was going to amount to something.

If only the MPLA was not as eager to fuck with his logistics so horribly. They were rookies for sure, their main drive coming through the militia force they raised under the Communist banner. It was disgusting he was working for Commies considering the brutality of this bunch, but if this suppressed Cipher’s means to acquire wealth then… It was all good.

Or should have been good if these issues with logistics weren’t giving his unit the chance to do the job fine.

The UNITA forces were nothing to scoff at as some had been trained together with the Colonial Portuguese Army before the Independence War against Lisbon, so their quality was well above what a normal militia should be able to muster.

His troops were regulars- they were far from professionals but could handle their own just fine considering their experience as part of MSF. Well, part of those were, the rest he recruited in Rhodesia.

The overall planning and execution of plans was yielding good results- that were being constantly undermined by the incompetence of the MPLA’s troops.

Plus, XOF was using some sort of ‘super soldiers’ against large formations with a positive result in their ranks. And a bad one for Miller. So, he put even more effort into this- which resulted in his unit being pinned down by an ambush. The attack was sudden and vicious. They were in a position to make it through, but the potential high losses made this situation one of the worst possible.

As if God was finally smiling upon him, the radio engineer right beside him caught a message.

“This is Fox Hound, we can provide assistance through the south. I repeat, Fox Hound shall assist Diamond Dogs.”

Fox Hound was a recent addition to the mercenary world in Angola. New, small and yet efficient as a unit. They have been active for a few months now, successfully handling some small cases- smaller cases than this one.

So, when the news came through the radio, Kazuhira had mixed feelings on the matter. The group was small and it shouldn’t have made the difference. Keyword was ‘shouldn’t’ as the small group did indeed clear up a flank and allowed Diamond Dogs to take care of the rest.

As the two groups met at the end of this battle, Kazuhira felt bile burning by his throat. Child soldiers… but no handlers. No, the white kid with shoulder-length blond hair in front of them was the boss. And he approached him confidently.

“Master Miller, it’s an honor to meet someone of your caliber.”

Fixing his sunglasses, Kazuhira didn’t allow the appearance of his current ‘opponent’ to deter him from treating for what he was- a fellow mercenary leader. And that confidence and calm look was… eerily familiar.

“I would like to say the same if not for the fact I don’t know who you are.”

“Snake.”

He scowled. “You are-”

“Young Snake. A fitting title for someone that is a child to your former employer,” The boy interrupted, causing Miller to frown at this. “And no, I am not tied to Zero.”

“What are you doing here?” The older mercenary demanded.

“Working to ruin a few unpleasant people’s lives. You know, Zero and his Cipher.”

“That’s not your war,” He remarked and I scoffed. “You are not old enough to make that call.”

“I shouldn’t have been born to begin with, but then Zero started to go a bit rough on what he is doing. By the way…” ‘Young Snake’ hummed, pausing as he retrieved a map with stuff written on it. “Have you or your men drank from these rivers?”

Taking a step closer, leaning close to check the map and then shook his head. He was confused by the presence of ‘Languages’ written with the same color as the specific rivers highlighted on the map.

“We didn’t operate in those areas.”

“Glad to hear that- to put it simply, Cipher has been working on a parasite they discovered a few years ago and XOF found out, weaponized it and now they have something that can kill adults that speak those languages after drinking from these rivers.”

Miller was… surprised. And irritated as that sounded like something Zero would want to look into.

“And so you now wage war with Zero for this?”

“For my soldiers’ legacy,” The boy corrected. “Orphans of a war caused by the ‘Major’. Plus, XOF is a product of Zero’s incompetence so he is to blame for that too.”

“That’s good to hear, but… I am not sure what do you want from us but we have a job to-”

“You are waiting to enact your revenge,” Young Snake interjected once more, his words this time sharply cutting through Miller.

His eyes widened behind his sunglasses, but he played it off with a sigh.

“What revenge?”

“Emmerich.”

And this time, there was no mask to hold back the anger. His own troops from MSF tensed up at the name being uttered.

“Where?”

“In XOF.”

His lips twitched in an ugly scowl. “Where?” He demanded more angrily, but Young Snake offered him a calm look and kept quiet.

This reminded him of Big Boss. He could imagine him being angry too, but being unwilling to let this cloud his judgment- again.

“He is in a facility in Afghanistan. The base is owned by the Soviet, but XOF has deployed special units to protect him and Strangelove.”

That… that didn’t make any sense. Strangelove was- she couldn’t have betrayed them too.

“Why is she there too?”

“Two reasons- she doesn’t know as she thinks she is working with the Soviets and… love.”

…You’re kidding me!

“You mean to tell me she loves Huey?”

“Enough to consider intimacy,” The boy confirmed. “Can’t tell what that means, but I know enough that a baby may be on the way.”

The idea of a traitor spreading his genes just left Miller in a worse mood but-

“And while I can’t offer you much, I have in my possession the doctor that helped XOF to develop the parasite for their units and… I know Ocelot is being tasked with helping the Soviets in Afghanistan.”

And while he felt there was more to it, the way the kid was selling this confirmed the very assumptions pummeled by his doubts- the kid was Big Boss’ kid.

—---------d-d-d-d—-------

AN

A little interlude that happens five months after the last chapter’s events. Liquid and his militia are doing better as CODE TALKER has been helpful with medical support- in the meantime more orphans have joined the group, forming the backbone of a formidable but small mercenary task force.