I think I'll remember the first of December 2016 forever. I was the director of La Chaîne Parlementaire at the time, and I had to set up almost everything when the four soldiers and the three Special Region refugees came to the Assemblée Nationale. Back then, the Gate and the NATO operation on the other side were on every lips. A simple news coming from there was the key to selling dozens of millions of your paper, so imagine when people learnt that locals were coming here and pass on TV. It was absolutely crazy. The thing is, La Chaîne Parlementaire is owned by the Parliament and detains the exclusive rights to the diffusion of any sitting, reunion, and yes, summons for parliamentary investigations. From the hour the meeting was announced to its start, I was flooded with demands from channels and papers from all around the globe. CNN, the BBC, RT, the Times… You name it and I should be able to find at least one letter or e-mail coming from it. They all wanted the same thing : the opportunity to have their camera inside the room were the Summon took place. But every single time, I had to decline. It would be too complicated to explain everything, but in the end, the only journalists were sitting with the public and the only cameras were ours. The results ? The biggest number of viewers recorded not only in La Chaîne Parlementaire's history, but in the whole country's. Before the first of December, the record was held by the 2006 World Cup semi-finals between France and Portugal with more than twenty two million viewers. The Summon recorded thirty million. You find this number impressive ? Well we are not done yet. This number is the number of people that watch the Summon on La Chaîne Parlementaire in front of their TVs in France. You can at least double it if you want to include all of those that watched it through our website or on other TV channels that literally showed our Internet broadcast. Hopefully, we had prepared ourselves for such a huge amount of connections on ours servers. Sure, we might have burnt a huge part of the small budget of the station on renting those servers, but it was worth it. We were sure that everyone was able to witness what was and still is a historical moment.
Extract of La Chaîne Parlementaire director's interview for French Television, November 2016
Paris, Assemblée Nationale, December 1st 2016, 1300 Paris Time
It was only when the group sat down on their designated chairs that they all really noticed all the people looking at them. From the members of the commission of inquiry to the simple spectator, all of them had they eyes aimed in their direction. But only a few were actually looking at the soldiers. Rory, Tuka and Lelei drew all the attention and sparked reactions before even a single word was spoken.
Anonymous Hey the blue haired one is holding a staff… Magic ? #DébatFORSO
Anonymous WTF ? Is the one in the dark dress a child ? What is the thing she carries ? Looks like an axe… #DébatFORSO
From where he stood, the chairman invited everyone to put on their headphones for the translation. The only three without one were the three refugees, Lelei whispering the meaning of every sentence in Rory and Tuka's ears.
The man cleared his throat in his microphone to stop the small brouhaha that was starting to fill the room.
« Well now that everyone understand everyone, we can start. I declare this questions and answers session open. I recall you that the goal of this meeting is to determine the responsibility of the NATO Special Region Task Force in the death of one hundred and forty nine civilians in the Special Region. »
He stopped for a few seconds, looking at the long table where all the members of the commission were sat.
« I give the floor to Monsieur le sénateur Brafort. »
The man named Brafort grabbed a list of questions from a pile of documents before pressing the button turning on his microphone.
« Thanks, he nodded with his heavy accent from south-western France. My questions will be directed towards Staff Sergeant Moltke. Can you please describe the encounter with the "dragon" ? »
Everyone was taken aback by who this question was asked to. In the light of the media coverage of the event, it was globally accepted that the first interactions would have been with the Lieutenant and the refugees. But apparently, the senator had decided otherwise.
« Huh… Ye… Yes, faltered a surprised Johann. We were escorting a huge convoy of carriages on a small road in direction of the local highway. In all there was like around six hundred villagers with us. We almost reached our objective when, from literally out of nowhere, the dragon appeared and attacked the civilians. The time we react, I'm sure that more than a half of the victims already died. »
« And can you describe the dragon ? How it attacked ? » the senator asked, looking at his sheet of question.
« Well… Huh… I can't say exactly… In the middle of the action… If you want something similar in shape and size, you should look at Smaug from The Hobbit. Big, red, breath fire… A big dragon just like in every fantasy book or movie ever… Oh and it's armored like a tank… »
Erebor06 : Is Middle Earth confirmed ? Sign me the fuck in #RealDragons #DébatFORSO
The statement sparked a small agitation in the public. The chairman asked for the return of the order in the room.
« Thank you Sénateur. Now, the floor is to Madame le député Fermat. »
A woman dressed in a suit similar to Tuka's adjusted the small microphone and looked directly at Clark.
« Sergeant Clark… What was the equipment issued to your Recon Team for your reconnaissance mission ? »
In front of millions of televisions, almost the whole public sighed. What they were waiting for was not yet here.
« The standard equipment for a Recon Team… Well, apart from the standard infantry equipment… We had three vehicles, one being equipped with a heavy machine gun, and a bunch of single shots anti-tanks rocket launchers. We are a recon force… We must go fast, not hit hard… »
The député checked on one of her papers if she had anything to add before returning to Jordan.
« Staff Sergeant Moltke just said that it was "bulletproof", does that mean that your attacks didn't had effect on it ? »
Clark smiled a little. For all the soldiers, the answer was obvious. Even if you weren't at the junction between the Tessalia Highway and the Coda Road, the word bulletproof was pretty self-explanatory.
« I think it is what the word "bulletproof" means. If you want something as an example, picture the dragon as a big, flying, flame spitting tank. The only way we made it flee was using one of the rocket launchers… But we almost missed it and it only blew its arm off. »
Again, it sparked a wave of reactions from the public. The chairman brought back the calm before pointing at an expert that requested the permission to speak.
« According to sample took after the Battle of Paris, started a man with large glasses, the scales of small dragons like the ones used by the armies of the Special Region are as hard as the armor of lightly armored vehicle. From the few damage free scales that had been gathered, we can assume that this… species… of dragons is as armored as a late Cold War main battle tank. »
ARMY87 : Now I'm picturing myself an enormous M60 Patton with wings… WTF ? #DébatFORSO
Treerend : ARMY87 Don't forget the flamethrower #DébatFORSO
« Thank you for your questions, Madame le député. Now, the floor is to Monsieur le Sénateur Bernard. »
This time, an old man pressed the button of his microphone.
« Is it on ? Hum… My question will be directed towards Staff Sergeant Daniella Trevis. »
Again, the feeling of disappointment swept through the entire public. The wait was not yet over.
« Staff Sergeant, you were the medic of the Third Recon Team, right ? »
« I was and still am. » simply answered Trevis.
« Well… You were then the first to provide medical support to the refugees after the battle. Can you describe what kind of injuries were dealt ? »
Daniella sighed. If she had to remember one thing from her deployment in the Special Region, the aftermath of the encounter with the Fire Dragon was low on the list.
« I guess you all had access to the numbers. The nine refugees that had been highly injured were because they miraculously survived the flames. The twenty five others were just people that hurt themselves while they were trying to flee. A broken leg, scratches… Nothing too enormous. »
She had launched those last words like the subject wasn't important. It's sure that when you had to rescue the only survivor of a completely burnt down village, nothing really impress you anymore.
« So you mean that the actual survival rate of the attack is in reality smaller than we thought ? »
The British let a few seconds pass to add a form of dramatic effect to her answer.
« Yes… And when I say they miraculously survived, I really mean it… Around half of them were barely breathing when reinforcements arrived… »
This time, the public stayed silent, showing how shocking this revelation was.
PseudoOriginal : Fucking hell… Must have been brutal… Those guys must have went through horrible shit. #DébatFORSO
The silence remained, heavy, weighting on the shoulders of the interrogated. A small feeling of discomfort started to appear in Anthony's heart. He knew who was next.
Him.
He was going to have the eyes of the whole world turned towards, and even if he tried not to think about it, now he was losing the control over his heartbeat.
The chairman broke the silence as he thanked the senator.
« Now, the floor is to Monsieur le sénateur Jacques Retal. »
At the moment the name of the main opponent to the FORSO deployment was pronounced, everyone started to hold their breaths. They perfectly understood that what they were waiting for was finally coming.
« Thank you, sir chairman. My first question will be directed towards the Lieutenant Moreau. »
Anthony took a deep breath before turning on the device that was in front of him.
Was he ready for this ? Probably not, but he had to answer every single questions with well thought words.
« Lieutenant, started the 40 years-old-looking man. Do you feel guilty ? »
« What ? »
« Do you feel responsible for the loss of those one hundred and forty nine lives of innocent civilians ? » asked again Retal, looking straight in the eyes of the Lieutenant.
Anthony understood what strategy the senator wanted to use. In spite of himself, the Lieutenant had become one of the figure associated with the NATO intervention in the Special Region. If the senator manages to ruin his image, the whole support gave to NATO by the population might crumble, leading to a public uproar against the deployment, protest and maybe the end of the intervention. Even if this plan was relying on many ifs, migths and maybes, there was a logic behind it.
But it was not the time to think about the senator strategy. He had to answer.
« I regret the death of all of those villagers, he said as a small grin appeared on the face of his interlocutor. I would have preferred to see all six-hundred of them being alive after the skirmish… But I am not going as far as considering myself the responsible of their deaths. »
Retal expected the denial, and quickly launched the question that he had prepared.
« Then, what, or who, do you think is responsible ? »
The Lieutenant sighed, causing the senator to smirk just like he had manage to hit his opponent in a sword fight.
« You heard Staff Sergeant Moltke and Sergeant Clark, Monsieur le sénateur. This beast was resistant to almost all of our weapons. We weren't fighting against raiders or soldiers, we were like fighting against a natural disaster that no one could have known about. Nobody can take the blame. Not me, not the soldiers under my orders, not the NATO officers, not LaPointe. Nobody. The only thing that I can call responsible is that beast itself. »
Retal silently scribbled down some notes with anger. The Lieutenant wasn't going to break as easily as he had expected.
« Thank you for your answers Lieutenant, he said as he looked through the list of the witnesses' names. Now, I would like to ask questions to Miss… Huh… Lelena. »
Hearing her name, Lelei did as she was told to allow the microphone device to capture her voice and send it to the numerous loudspeakers.
Anonymous : The refugees are finally going to speak ! They took their time #DébatFORSO
« I believe you talk a little of French ? » the senator asked as he tried to understand the usage of the staff that the girl was holding ever since she entered the room.
« Oui, answered Lelei without showing any emotions. There are a lot of similitudes between our languages, so I had no trouble understanding it. »
« Good… You live in the refugee camp. Do you lack any living necessities ? »
Lelei slightly adjusted the thin trump of the microphone to enhance the quality of the recording.
« No. Food, water, shelter, protection, the soldiers of the NATO Special Region Task Force provides with every of our needs. For a lot of the villagers, the life that they have now is even better than the one they had before. »
Again, Retal looked for half a second to his questions to pick the one that was the best suited.
« Miss Lelena, I apologize in advance if my question feels rude, but I had trouble understanding your profession with the documents I had access to. Apparently you are a student. Could you explain ? »
« Yes. I am the student of Kato El Altestan, Mage and Master of the Lindon School of Magic. I spent my entire life trying to understand the complex art that is magecraft. »
« Wait… Did you said Mage ? »
The surprised reaction of the senator was shared by every single spectator watching the broadcast. A Mage ? Magic ? Magic can't exist. Scientists had found that having species of flying reptiles the size of a horse was probable under the theory of evolution. But magic as described in fantasy novels can't exist because it doesn't make any sense scientifically.
To prove her point, Lelei closed her eyes, silently rose her free hand and started to mutter. Everyone's attention was attracted by the staff's blue crystal that started to shine.
And magic appeared in our world.
Not a single word was pronounced as the stack of documents sitting in front of the senator started to rise in the air.
As the pieces of paper were hovering a few meters in the air, mobile phones were drawn to capture the scene under all angles imaginable.
Magic just became something real.
Erebor06 : OMG ! Am I dreaming ? #MagicIsReal #DébatFORSO
Anonymous : Erebor06 IT'S HAPPENING ! #MagicIsReal #DébatFORSO
The documents slowly returned to their position on the senator's desk and Lelei stopped muttering. Opening her two eyes, she saw the awe in the eyes of the chairman, the members of the commission and the public.
« I can hardly do much without drawing into my energy reserve and tiring myself. Also the number of mages and sorcerers in our world is very small. Only a few can learn it and an even smaller quantity manage to master it. Magic is not going to be a problem to your military forces. »
As a huge part of the spectators were still in shock, Retal was quick to return to his questions.
« Miss Lelena, do you think that the soldiers of the Third Recon Team failed their mission of protecting civilians ? »
« No. »
The answer was quick, and emotionless.
« Well… Huh… Thank you Miss Lelena. I would like now to ask questions to Miss Tuka Luna Marceau. »
Lelei whispered the meaning of the senator's words in the ear of the elf that, imitating her mage friend, turned on the microphone.
« Miss Marceau, continued Retal, again I apologize for my indelicacy, but are your ears real ? »
The senator silently watched the mage translating his question to the blond woman. She smiled and laughed a little bit before looking directly at the man.
In a swift movement, she brushed away the small hair bundle that was hiding the basis of her right ear and made it twitch.
« Yes, she answered with as she moved the blonde hairs. It is a characteristic shared by all the Elves. »
Immediately, dozens of flashes rained upon the sight of those ears. It was another surprise that the Special Region had brought in front of the world.
Erebor06 : Whoa… Was Tolkien right all this time ? #ElvesIRL #DébatFORSO
« Order ! Order in the room please ! » yelled the chairman, his authority slowly getting weaker.
As the calm returned inside the Assemblée, people were still looking at the elf in an intrigued way. Was she really not a human ? Does other fantasy sentient species, like dwarves and hobbits, exists ?
« Sénateur, you may continue. »
« Thank you, simply nodded Retal. Miss Marceau, do you think that the soldiers of the Third Recon Team took enough actions during the encounter ? »
As she heard the question through Lelei's voice, a flow of sentiments took over Tuka. Mainly sadness with a small amount of regret. Her expression changed and her ears dropped.
« I… I don't know… I was still unconscious then. But I imagine that if we are here to talk, then they did the things that had to be done. »
She said her last sentence like she tried to cheer her up. She knew that beyond the public present in the room, a lot of people were watching her, and she didn't wanted to make a bad impression.
« Thanks for your answers, Miss Marceau. I now call Miss Mercury. »
As she was hearing the translation through Lelei's voice, Retal silently observed the last witness. She was just a child dressed in a black dress. Her face was hidden by a black veil. Obviously, it was a mourning outfit. Who said mourning mean a dead relative or family member. A family member that probably died in the battle with the dragon. And it might probably lead to negative comments on the Task Force under the force of anger and sadness. Being friendly with her was the first step.
« Miss Mercury, can you describe your life in the refugee camp ? »
« Every day, I continue to perform my activities as the Apostle of Emroy. During the day, I can pray and perform religious rituals without being disturbed. At night, I sleep. I, like all the villagers, am restricted in my movements but for reasons that I perfectly understand. »
Her voice was juvenile. She wasn't older than thirteen or fourteen years old. But the senator wasn't focusing on that aspect of the answer. He expected the positive comments about living the camp and now that the discussion had started, he could freely exploit the scars of her relative's deaths.
« From the look of things, you lost one or several people that mattered to you. Do you think that the soldiers of the Third Recon Team can be held accountable for their deaths ? »
The two refugees whispered between them. Despite using his softest voice, he knew that the question was heavy of meaning.
But the blue-haired translator started to talk before the black-dressed one spoke.
« Rory does not understand your question, she said still without any emotions. Her family… »
« According to the reports made public by NATO, a fourth of the village's population died while the soldiers didn't suffered a single injury. Did the soldiers put civilians at risks to protect themselves from this beast ? »
Without realizing it, the senator launched this question with a voice becoming more and more angry at each word that came out of his mouth. But what he noticed was the girl's reaction. She had slightly moved her head back and put a hand over her mouth like she was in shock. He had hit a sensible point, and now he was expecting a tearful answer.
The girl adjusted the microphone in front of her mouth and took a deep breath.
« Est-ce que vous êtes stupide ? » she yelled powerfully in the device.
The loudspeakers made the voice echo through the room, forcing everyone to put their hands on their ears.
« Wha… Did… Did you just spoke French ? » faltered the senator after recovering his hearing capabilities.
« This is not the matter, she giggled. I listened very carefully to your questions, and I am now asking if you are stupid. You keep asking the same thing over and over again. »
She stopped before sighing like a parent that was having a hard time teaching something to a child.
« During my long life, I saw countless times the ruins of entire cities destroyed by the Fire Dragon. Surviving an attack alone is worth praises, and yet you are still complaining over small things. For you, one fourth of the villagers died. It's wrong. Your soldiers saved three fourths of them by doing the exact opposite of using them as shields. The first thing they did was distracting it away from the defenseless villagers. Then, they managed to blow its arm off and made it flee. In only a few minutes, they did something that no one managed to do in centuries. That is my answer to your stupid question. Do you understand ? »
The senator's anger rose again as the comment was arriving to his ears. He had spent nights preparing each questions, thinking of every answers imaginable, only to be contradicted by this arrogant girl.
« I don't know how it works in your world, he almost started to yell, but here, kids respects the adults. You should probably do the same thing and not speak to me with that tone. »
The girl laughed again before answering.
« If the young ones respect their elders, then I believe that I should be the one respected here. »
To prevent Retal from literally scream in his microphone, the chairman stopped the discussion.
« Monsieur le sénateur, he said, please calm down. Miss Mercury, I must also ask you to watch your words. »
Anthony had been watching the scene unfold in front of his eyes with amusement. Seeing the statesman that was trying to take him down getting literally destroyed by Rory made him smirk.
But this small smile had disappear when he noticed that the Apostle's face was now full of seriousness. This wasn't foreshadowing something good. Knowing Rory, the situation could completely change in an instant so he had to act fast.
« I think Sir Retal is gravely mistaken about Miss Mercury's age, he launched without warning to grab everyone's attention. It might come as a surprise, but she is actually the oldest person here. »
A second of silence followed. A very awkward silence to say the least.
The only one that dared to break it was the old senator that had ask questions to Trevis.
« I am almost seventy, he laughed. What you are saying doesn't make any sense. »
Anthony quickly looked to the side towards the young looking apostle. He and the rest of the Recon Three soldiers were used to the difference between how she was looking and who she really was. But the rest of the world was only watching a girl with a total lack of respect. On her face, he saw some sort of vicious smile slowly reappearing, just like she was going to drop the biggest punchline ever.
« Do you know it is not polite to talk about a woman's age ? » she giggled, maintaining an intense eye contact with Retal.
« How old are you, Miss Mercury ? » he launched to her, not looking away from the deep red of her eyes.
Was he trying to survey her soul, or was he just showing that he wasn't backing off ? Nobody could really tell.
« I'm nine hundred and sixty-one years-old. »
The silence brutally returned inside the Assemblée.
« Wait… Wha… What ?... Nine hundred and… » faltered Retal.
« You heard me right. I am almost a millennium old. » Rory simply launched back at the senator like it was something that wasn't really important.
« And… And Miss Tuka ? »
« I am one hundred and sixty-five years old. » simply answered the elf with a large smile.
It was like being hit by a hammer. Not a single word could describe the atmosphere inside the audition room and in front of the millions of TV screens. Some were in awe in front of such an impressive age while other were shaking their heads, still believing that lifespan was something that couldn't be changed, other world or not.
PseudoOriginal : Boy ! That escalated quickly. I mean that really got out of hand fast. #DébatFORSO
« And Miss Lelena ? »
The question was almost desperate, like if the senator was trying to hear something believable coming from the Special Region to keep his sanity.
« I am just fifteen. »
Retal let out a sigh of relief shared by almost the entire audience. At least someone from there was somewhat "normal" even if she knew real magic.
« I am a human, continued the young mage. With what I learnt, there are no differences between the humans from your world and us. We live for seventy years and we are the dominant species in our world. »
Everyone was drinking her words like they were coming from a fountain of knowledge.
« As Tuka said, she is an Elf. They have a lifespan way superior to ours, and they are a rare sight for the humans as they live hidden in the woods, only trading with a few trustworthy villages. »
She stopped for a few seconds, thinking carefully about the words she was going to use to describe Emroy's Apostle in front of her.
« Rory, on the other hand, was a human being once. But it was a long time ago. Now, she is an Apostle, a demi-goddess. An immortal being of flesh and blood that, when she will reach the age of a thousand, will ascend and become a goddess. »
Again, silence.
Anonymous : Demi-goddess ? Does that mean that deities are a thing now ? #DébatFORSO
Anonymous : There isn't a religion about gothics girls around, is it ? #DébatFORSO
Retal, the other members of the commission, the chairman, the audience. Everyone had a blank look on their faces.
« Sénateur, do you have any more questions ? » simply asked the chairman to break the silence.
« No… I don't have any… » Retal let out with his head down as a way to admit his defeat in the verbal battle that took place in front of the world.
« Then I conclude this session of questions and answers. I'd like to thank the witnesses from the Special Region for their presence. I will also remind that the commission's deliberation will take place next month. »
The seven stood up and passed through the same door they passed when they entered.
« Well, laughed Bonnisseur that was waiting for them, that's quite the revelation. »
« I think that I can add "destruction of religion, fantasy and science" in my achievement list. » answered Anthony with a slight sarcastic tone. For him, the stressful event had passed. Now came the time for the two days that everyone were waiting for.
« Cut it, ordered one of the men that were watching a small television. I've seen enough. »
In all they were a dozen around the monitor that had been set on one of the numerous crates that were filling the empty storage room of an abandoned factory.
The man that had launched the order was sitting in the middle of the group, directly in front of the TV, as a way to still show dominance to his subordinates.
« They can't be telling the truth. How could that bitch be nine hundred years old ? » asked one of the youngest.
« I doubt that they modified the images, calmly answered the leader. We saw that witch and her sorcery. We must deal with them as soon as we can. »
He turned his head towards one man that had already pulled out a laptop.
« They say they will be staying at a hotel for the two nights before the commemoration ceremony, but I doubt that they would take the risk to have their bus leading every single journalist to their location. Thus, the bus that will leave the Assemblée will probably be a decoy. Find their real location. But do it quick. We won't have an infinite number of tries. »
Behind the screen, the man simply nodded as he was already making a list of possible places were the "guests" of the special region could stay.
« May success be upon us all. » the man muttered before standing up and leaving the room, his men already pulling out weapons out of the crates.
Thanks for reading the fourteenth chapter of Gate : Opération Marteau de Justice.
I am perfectly aware that because all of the chapter is the summon, it might not be the most interresting one to read. But I tried to make it at least readable.
As you may had noticed, I didn't use real names for senators. I don't want that people think that I have a particular political view based on this fic.
But anyway, on to the reviews.
Fallschirmjagers Kommandan - The thing is that the French prisons are completely full, so I think that having some neighbours host some prisonners to avoid too much overpopulation is a thing that could happend.
DreadCraft - Well technically Pina isn't negotiating peace, but how will be French diplomats hosted. But I still take notes for the future.
Goodalwayswins98 - Merci pour la critique mec. Je suis conscient que je vais devoir retravailler les premier chapitres. Je pense que je vais commencer à modifier le canon quand on arrivera à la "saison 2" de l'anime.
Insanis Men - The exploration of Paris is coming next time. I already thought about the Louvre, but describing the Parisians in themselves is a good idea. I might do it.
Et pour finir : On dit Pain au chocolat putain de bordel de merde ! Chocolatine c'est moche comme mot !