An ordinary recon mission

"What's the point of learning all this?"

Altin, Julien and Eléonore kept silent.

The man who has asked the question was failing at even the most basic tasks.

He couldn't even bend a spoon, heat a coin, or light up a light bulb, and yet he had been accepted in the new batch of recruits.

He was around 20 and an already trained trooper. He had gone through traditional Bootcamp, but he had just started the String force basic training.

If it weren't because it had become compulsory for any soldier with even a once of affinity for the string force, he would never have passed the selection.

It was how dire the need for more ability users was: virtually anyone was invited to train in the string force, and it was compulsory when it could be, like for any soldier.

Altin, Eléonore, and Julien had trouble teaching such recruits. Even though they were in the military, the late teens struggled to enforce respect and obedience due to their younger ages.

Thankfully, Julien and Eléonore had some experiences by now.

"What would you do if you can't move all of a sudden?" Eléonore asked.

"Eh... why would I not move?" The trooper probed, puzzled.

Eléonore walked up to the man. "I'll show you," she said, a big smile on her face.

"Try walking," Eléonore suggested.

The trooper stared at Eléonore. He shrugged.

He then stepped forward.

Yet, he did not move by one step. Puzzled, he tried stepping backward, but he also couldn't move at all. Although he moved his legs, the ground didn't seem to push him anymore; he stood in the same position.

"Do you feel like you're trying to walk in the air?" Eléonore asked.

The trooper nodded.

"You are. I've inverted gravity at your feet, so your feet can't oppose pushing power against the ground. That's why you can't move. There are many places now where gravity won't work as usual." Eléonore waited for the soldier to understand. Then, with a smile full of sarcasm, she asked: "How would you feel if you were trapped in one place forever? "

The trooper swallowed his pride and didn't reply. The answer was obvious.

Eléonore now stepped backward, staring at the trainees. "Any more questions?" She asked.

The other trainees, two dozens in total, kept silent.

"Perfect. We'll now proceed to explain to you the different kinds of anomalies you may encounter." Eléonore glanced at Julien, then at Altin.

She had let Julien explain in the previous session, but none of the recruits had understood. Julien had gone too technical and had thrown too many details. This time, they had agreed beforehand that Altin would be the one to explain.

Altin saw Julien nodding, thus conveying his agreement to let him explain.

Altin was about to say: "So for the first kind you may..." when a shout interrupted him.

"Unicorn squad!"

A trooper walked toward the unicorn squad. It was the drill instructor, Tarik, which they had temporarily substituted for string force training.

Overhearing "unicorn squad" aloud also earned Altin, Julien, and Eléonore some laughs from the recruits. Julien and Altin were embarrassed.

Eléonore seemed almost content and proud of their codesign.

They turned toward Tarik, the drill instructor.

"Brener is requesting you. You're needed for a recon mission. He's waiting in the tent 65-3. Leave the training to me."

Tarik couldn't help but smile devilishly at the thought of doing the drills again.

Altin, Julien, and Eléonore voiced their agreements.

They threw one last look at the recruits before leaving.

It was a look full of pity for the recruits.

"YOU'RE GONNA SWEAT LIKE PIGS NOW THAT I'M HERE, BOYS!"

... as they heard on the way to tent 65-3.

Fifteen minutes later, they had arrived.

***

"Unicorn squad and radio squad, thanks for being here," Brener announced. "I'll now brief you on your next mission."

In front of Brener, there were two rows of 4 people each. Next to him, the dim light of a projector displayed a map on the white screen.

Brener was pointing at the map.

Julien, Paul, Eléonore, and Altin were among the people in the rows, along with the "radio squad," a squad that specialized in amplifying or canceling electromagnetic waves in the range of radio communications.

"You are to head out to Linage, a small town of 20,000 inhabitants south of Paris. There, the police has a police station staffed by about 20 officers. Unfortunately, it is the only one left in the city.

"Here." Brener aimed his finger at a specific map area, circled 'Downtown.' It was about 2 kilometers wide.

Brener continued: "The last contact we've had with the station was a week ago. Since then, we have failed to reach anyone in the station. Not only that, but virtually anyone in the city is unreachable. We have reasons to believe the communications are jammed in the whole town and its surrounding."

Altin raised his hand.

"Questions later." Brener denied Altin's request to ask a question. However, the latter didn't seem too surprised. "The comms don't seem jammed by a jammer device, but by interferences of the string force. That's why you're here."

Brener stared at each of the young recruits in the tent. Most were barely of age. And yet, he was commanding them like servicemen.

"Your mission is to head out with the recon unit of the 1st Infantry regiment, nicknamed "Alpha squad." They'll provide direction and protection while you investigate the source of the interferences. They're also tasked to link up with the police station. You are to follow their orders. It should be a common recon mission. Questions?"

It didn't take a moment for Altin to raise his hand.

"Go ahead," Brener allowed.

"Why send our squad besides the radio squad?" Altin turned to look at the radio squad, made of two young men and two young women, all looking 17-18.

"That's my question as well. Why bring in the unicorn squad?" One of the young men of the radio squad asked, not without putting a distinct emphasis on 'unicorn,' looking mockingly at Altin.

Altin ignored him.

Julien and Paul exchanged a stare.

"Henry," Brener replied, staring at the young man of the radio squad that had asked the question. "Your squad is the best we've got when it comes to radio comms, but your lack the versatility of the... unicorn squad." Brener forced himself not to smirk.

"Work together. It's a good opportunity to train your teamwork and learn from each other."

Julien then raised his hand. He asked: "Why not dispatch a helicopter to have a quick look at the police station?"

"We're too short-staffed," Brener said." We keep our helicopters for rescue operations, not for recon. Especially since we don't think there will be any danger other than a substantial density of string energy - which you should handle just fine. Next question. Altin? Again?"

"Yes...eh, is it true that organized crime has dramatically decreased the last few weeks around Paris?" Altin asked.

Brener replied: "It's true. We aren't too sure why, but we have substantially fewer assault reports. We believe the various gangs are taking advantage of the chaos to go into hiding."

The answer failed to satisfy Altin. So he narrowed the question: "Sir, you still have no new report on Jurgen and the remains of his organization?"

"No, sorry," Brener said.

Altin let his hand drop, dejected of the lack of news regarding the one person he wished to die.

Then, three seconds passed; but no hands were raised.

"Good," Brener commented, "Pack your gear. Light. It's 3 hours from here by car. You're to leave in 1 hour, at noon so that you can get there by 4 pm. You're to tour the town for an hour or two and report in the evening, back here for dinner. Have fun, boys and girls. Be careful out there. You're dismissed."

On that note, the briefing was finally over.

Altin and Julien returned to their tent, where they changed into their military uniform, proudly showcasing their squad's insignia: a beautiful purple unicorn.

Eléonore and Paul did the same.

***

At exactly noon, they stood ready at the north gate together with the radio squad led by Henry.

There was also a truck manned by one squad of the 1st Infantry Regiment. It was a military truck that could hold up to 20 soldiers in the back.

A man next to the truck came to see the two squads that had arrived. Greeting the unicorn squad and the radio squad, which stood together, he said: "I'm sergeant Aster, and I lead this squad, the alpha squad." Then, he motioned toward the rest of his men, four in total other than him. "You're the unicorn squad and the radio squad, I presume?"

"Yes," Altin and Henry replied at the same time.

"Good. You guys are all ready to go? If so, climb up in the truck."

Altin, Julien, and Eléonore turned to stare at Paul. Then, finally, Sergeant Aster caught the message. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot. You're..." Aster stared at Paul's nametag and read it. "Paul, right? The truck has a special ramp to load heavy cargo, but we can use it just fine to bring you in."

Paul sighed. This situation was all too common, but he was glad the army didn't look down on him despite his handicap.

Sergent Aster ordered one of his men to deploy the ramp.

Julien, Eléonore, Paul, and Altin soon followed.

The radio squad also went in, so did the alpha squad of the Infantry Regiment.

Sergent Aster was the last one to come in.

He introduced his squad: "Here's Corporal Rico, and there's also Private Marlo, Private Bambi, and Corporal Tenir."

He noticed that Altin and his friends weren't carrying any weapons. "You don't have any weapons ?" he asked.

Julien picked up the question. It wasn't the first time they had been asked. "We're not allowed to. But, although we're in the military, we never had Bootcamp, and we retain civil rights. So we're not allowed to use weapons. So we're like the half-civil, half military."

"Makes sense." Sergent Aster noted. "Well, we shouldn't need them anyway for this mission. I've heard a lot about the Espadon platoon. So tell me, what you guys are capable of?"

Paul smiled at the question.

It was the perfect opportunity to tell the stories of how he saved Julien and Eléonore in the middle of a thunderstorm and how he saved people from a train derailing at high speed.

It was time to show off!

The conversation went on for hours.

***

Four hours later.

"ALTIN, WAKE UP!"

Altin was jolted awake. He also felt somebody gently pushing him from the side. Then, opening his eyes, he saw it was Eléonore, while next to her, Paul and Julien were laughing.

The radio squad and most of the alpha were already down on the ground. It seemed Altin was the last one to wake up.

But it couldn't be helped. Four hours was a long time in a truck.

Still sleepy, Altin asked, "What's going on?"

"We're about 5min from the town, but the comms are already down. The alpha squad and the radio squad are already investigating." Eléonore summed up. "What do you feel?"

Altin focused for a moment. Then, there he felt it: wavering tickling in the back of his head. There was no mistake. "The string force. It's here."

"Right." Eléonore acquiesed.

Julien sighed: "Of course, Brener had to be right..."

However, Paul seemed excited: "Guys, it means we'll be able to use our powers here. Isn't that cool?"

Altin kept silent.

It also meant they might face some unexpected situations.

Was it still an ordinary recon mission?

Worried, Altin came down and walked toward the radio squad. "Are you guys picking up anything?"

"Yes... somehow." It was a girl who replied. 'Emma,' Altin read on her nametag. "The string force is definitively the cause of the jamming, and it seems to come from the city."

"Kiddos! Can you neutralize the jamming?" Sergent Aster asked. He was right in front of a radio, but nothing except white noise could be heard. Altin checked its phone: no network.

"I'll try," Henry of the radio squad said. He sat down, looking thoughtful and focused. Then, Altin felt the ticking in his head weaken and stabilizing.

"Now?" Henry asked.

"Umm... still white noise." Sergent Aster commented.

Henry sighed. "Sorry, I can only neutralize the jamming within maybe a one-kilometer radius."

"Then it must mean nobody is communicating nearby or that the jamming covers an area exceeding that," Sergent Aster concluded. "Let's move into the city and first go to the police station. Let's go."

Everyone came back to the truck.

It drove towards the city, passing in front of unkempt fields filled with bad herbs.

Just as the truck was about to enter the town's limits, Altin noticed a car going the opposite way. It was leaving the town at high speed, clearly throwing caution away to leave the town. He thought nothing of it.

The truck finally entered the city.

It seemed as if there was no traffic; yet, as the truck drove into the city towards the police station, Altin couldn't help but observe how the windows of the houses they passed by were closed or how he felt observed. Julien, Eléonore, and Paul similarly shared the same feeling.

There were barely any pedestrians in the town. It wasn't what you would expect for a small village in the middle of the afternoon.

Was everyone staying confined in their houses?

The weird situation made Altin uneasy; he suddenly felt the sun more cloudy than it really was.

Sergent Aster asked how the jamming was going, and the radio squad only replied that it was getting stronger. Finally, Henry canceled the jamming for a moment at Aster's demand to listen on the police frequency.

Still nothing.

So the truck continued to drive through the city.

For some reason, the more the truck dived into the town, the more people seemed to try to avoid its passage. The few pedestrians outside -primarily men- were rushing to get inside the nearest house or store.

The truck passed in front of the church and its empty town square.

The town felt like a ghost town, which wasn't unusual in this day and age. People left places where electricity and network didn't work anymore and came to places where they did.

After the church and a few more streets, they finally reached the police station.

Two police cars laid wrecked, seemingly burned, in front of the large building that was the town police station.

It was swallowed in darkness, wholly encompassed by a spheric ominous black hole.

***

At the same moment.

Inside the hospital of Interoutes camp.

The older lady had laid on the bed for a month.

If it weren't for the sign that she was dreaming, the staff would have given up upon her.

Yet presently... she seemed to have a particularly intense dream.

Her eyes moved under her closed eyelid, and she said, still asleep: "They're coming, they're coming... ELEONORE! THEY'RE COMING!"

She suddenly stood up.

Marie had awakened from her coma.

The nurses were immediately alerted and rushed in as Marie processed what she had just dreamt and where she was.

"They... ?" She whispered as realization took in.

***

In a dimly light room, several people were calmy looking at the multiple screens lit up in front of them.

Each seemed to show a specific area of the city.

On a particular feed, a military truck had approached the black hole swallowing the police station. Now, the people inside were all scattered around it.

"Zoom on the boys, the ones around the one in the wheelchair."

The feed zoomed on Julien, Paul, Eléonore, and Altin.

The man smiled, laughed, and said: "So it's you, kids, again..."

"Let's welcome them."