The air was getting colder as winter slowly drew closer every day. The first snows were still a few months away, but the rich inhabitants of the tallest hills of the capital had to start wearing light coats to protect themselves from the light winds.
For the noble young women and the old veterans of the Rose Order, this was no important matter, the heavy armors playing the role of those coats at all time of the year. But still, in the boredom of guarding an empty portion of the fortification, the changing weather was a recurring subject of the small talk between the naive soldiers.
The Jade Palace was situated at the limit of the city, its large park limited on its northern side by the tall protective wall. Shortly after the creation of the Order, they had been given the mission to guard this section from the Emperor himself, and the rumor says that it is the Princess that requested it to prevent her Order from becoming a simple group of banner holders for the military parades.
In this section of fortification was a small gate, allowing a trail coming from the woods to enter the park and head towards the palace. There was not an important traffic on this road and the heavy wooden doors remained constantly closed, preventing any unexpected guest from entering the domain without his identity being verified.
From time to time, a lone wanderer would come, seeking shelter from the elements. In this situation, the young knights would host the poor traveler for the night in a small wooden building built near the gate before leading him to the city. But this cold morning, it was not a single man that walked down the trail in direction of the door.
The lookout saw, coming down the trail, a group of silhouettes covered by large hooded cloaks. There was still a good amount of distance between them and the wall, so much so that trying to find out what was the species of those figures.
The young woman immediately jumped out of her small observation post situated on the wall and jogged across the walkway. Dominating the almost empty small courtyard created by the wall and the small buildings, she brought up her two hands next to her mouth like a megaphone.
« Six men on foot. Apparently unarmed. No uniform. Origin unknown. Arrive in a few minutes. » she yelled, knowing that her voice was echoing just far enough for everyone important to hear.
She then returned to her position, keeping a focused eye on the small troop as it drew closer. Behind, the light noise of the agitation reached her ears as the other knights started to gather on the walkway.
« You really have good eyesight, Liara. » suddenly congratulated the heavy voice of a long time veteran.
« Thank you, Sir Grey. » she respectfully answered, bowing in front of the old but still strong man.
« It sure is an unusual sight. Could it be… ? » he whispered to himself with his hand on his chin.
He stayed silent for a second, his mind deep in thoughts, before a light smile that nobody noticed appeared at the corner of his mouse. He turned around and started to give his orders.
« Everyone except the lookout, stay in the courtyard. I will handle the arrival of these men, whoever they are. But stay careful, your swords might have to be used. » the old man launched to the young women that immediately obeyed.
You can learn a lot from watching how a man, or in this case a group of men, walks. Some signs are obvious, like the walking pace or the size of each step, but the most important clues are the ones that only few can see, and most of the time not even the walker himself. With time and experience, one can learn how to spot those tiny details and what they mean, and that is exactly what happened during Grey's career in the Imperial Army.
In this situation, the large hoods and cloaks were masking many of those details. The old officer even wondered for a second if the use of such clothing was made with the idea to hide those details in mind. But despite all of this, he could still see many things.
What he felt was experience and rigor. Those six men were walking just like a group of powerful mercenaries, keeping stable intervals in between themselves to maintain a perfect triangular formation.
As those mysterious men progressed, doubt started to disappear in Grey's mind. In fact, when they finally stopped a few dozen meters away from the gate, he launched his first question not to find out who they were, but to respect the protocol and keep the other knights unaware for as long as possible, just in case.
« What is your business in the Capital, travelers ? » he shouted powerfully to the cloaks that were now standing still.
« We want to talk to Her Highness Pina Co Lada. » replied the cloak at the top of the triangle.
« Where do you come from ? »
« From way too far for you to know. »
The answer made Grey smile. The figures were already defying Imperial authority without even having entered the capital yet. Now, something was sure.
Those men had guts.
« And why do you want to meet the Princess ? »
The leader did not answer right away. Instead, his cloak started to slightly move just like if his hands were moving underneath it. A few seconds later, he pulled out a rolled up scroll, only his right arm poking out of the cloak, and with a small hand movement, he unrolled the piece of parchment.
« Because she asked us to. » he then simply said.
Despite on top of the wall, Grey had recognized the personal distinctive seal of the Princess, a large rose surrounded by many other smaller roses and the three letters forming the initials of her name, all of it carved into pink wax.
« We will open the gates. Please wait where you are. » shouted the old veteran before turning around and giving his orders.
The young women assigned to the door nodded and quickly started to pull off the large metal bar that was preventing the two wooden panels from moving. The metal hinge creaked as the heavy doors moved under the combine effort of several Knights, creating an opening large enough for a few men to pass through.
Without a word, the cloaks entered inside the courtyard, all of them still wearing their hoods. They stopped approximately in the middle, now in a circular formation, waiting for Grey to come down from the walkway. All around them were knights, fully equipped, ready to attack, capture and, if needed, kill.
« I did not know that Italica was too far for me to know. » laughed the old man as he finally stopped in front of the cloaked leader.
When directly facing each other, two warriors always recognize themselves, even when the way of fighting are totally different.
« You have already guessed, huh ? » asked the leader with an unsurprised tone.
All around them, whispers of confusion and incomprehension appeared in the ranks of the women.
« Italica ? »
« But Italica has been invaded… »
« And why come from the north ? »
After all, almost none of the knights that were not in the initial detachment sent to Italica for the reconnaissance mission had been informed of anything regarding Italica and the progression of the army from the other world. To get any information, they had to rely on rumors coming from the Imperial Army. Those measures had been taken to reduce the risk of leak to a minimum, the entirety of the operation relying on secretness and the effect of surprise.
« I don't recall Her Highness putting her seal on many documents lately, continued Grey. There were not a lot of possibilities to choose from. »
One of the knight stepped out of the group of spectators.
« Sir Grey, you know those men ? » she respectfully asked.
« Yes I do, he replied to the woman before turning back towards the cloaks. I thinks it is time for you to properly introduce yourselves. »
The leader of the cloaks nodded and turned his head before launching an order in a language that was unknown, but strangely familiar.
« Allez les gars, on se présente aux demoiselles de manière courtoise. »
The leader took off his hood, revealing his very short hair and his war torn face. Following him, his men did the same. The diversity of characteristics between each one of them was way greater than the diversity one can find in the Imperial Army as almost half of them had clearly darker skin than the others. It sparked another wave of reactions amongst the knights, now even more confusion regarding the origin of these men.
But they immediately stopped as the cloaks fell on the ground.
Everyone gasped when they saw the green uniforms they were wearing and the small black weapons they were holding. Meanwhile, Grey was smiling just like a teenager that had successfully pranked his friends.
« Mesdemoiselles, started the leader of the newcomers, I sadly cannot currently give you any information regarding our operations, but you can be assured that I, as well as my NATO superiors, look forward working with the Rose Order. »
His voice was calm, speaking slowly and without any hostility.
But despite that, the young knight that had stepped out of the rank tried to reach for her sword. She was only able to slightly pull the shiny and unused steel out of its sheath before she was stopped by Grey, grabbing her arm.
« But… But Sir, those are our enemies… We are at war with them… » she tried to say, not really understanding what was going on.
« No, replied her superior. The Empire is at war with France, not the Order. And they are here to bring peace with the help of the Princess. Understood, Beefeater ? »
The knight breathed heavily for a second before nodding and sliding the blade back. When Grey finally let go of her arm, she bowed down in front of the leader.
« My apologies, sir. » she said, her deep dark, almost purple, hair falling down in front of her face before standing back up.
« Anyway, continued the old knight as the woman returned to her place in the ranks. Please follow me. Her Highness Pina Co Lada is waiting for you. »
Camp Alnus, Interrogation Room, February 7th 2017, 1000 AT
« So Frank, what do we have on this guy ? »
The two intelligence officer were standing, looking through the one way mirror into the Interrogation room. Sitting on one of the metal chair was the leader of the smugglers, brought back from its former camp during the first rotation of the Chinook between there and Alnus. Short brown hair, dirty skin and overall horrible hygiene were expected from a bandit of the Middle-Ages, and in that field he delivered.
« From the other guy, they call him Maki, he lead the slavers, his business was pretty good and can be a cool guy with you if you earn his respect. » replied Frank, quickly going through the written transcript of the earlier interview with the young smuggler that the Special Forces team had captured first.
« Can I yell at him ? » asked George with a small smile at the corner of his mouth.
« As long as he does not shit himself. Because I swear you will be the one cleaning it up if that happens. »
« Yes, laughed the younger of the agents before taking a pile full of standard papers for this kind of interrogations. I am going to be careful. »
On that word, he took his breath and opened up the door as violently as he could to just not completely slam it.
On his small chair, Maki almost jumped out of surprise, fear and intimidation.
George sat down on the free chair at the other side of the table before pulling out some papers and his pen, while still throwing dark looks at the smuggler.
« What is your name ? » he then asked with the most intimidating voice he could make.
Maki did not reply. Instead, he backed off as much as he could in the small chair, looking at George with terrified eyes.
« What is your name ? » he asked again, this time with an angrier tone and hitting the table with his hand.
The smuggler jerked backwards, rising his hands towards the front of his face and closing his eyes.
« My… My name is Makiel… Makiel Em Fael, he faltered. Please don't hurt me. »
His hands were shivering, creating a sentiment of surprise in George's mind, he was not expecting to be that efficient in the intimidation department.
« Do not worry. As long as you keep answering my questions, I will not hurt you. Or at least I will try not to. »
Makiel uneasily brought down his hands back on the table before silently nodding, despite still shaking a little.
« Good. Now tell me where do those slaves come from and where did you sent them ? »
« I… I know some people inside the Capital that are interesting in that kind of cargo. Mainly the crime lords in the poorest part of the city. I also have relations with some groups in the country side that furnish me with cargo. I… I am just the middle man. »
George had the great need to slap Makiel's face when he heard the word "cargo". But he was not ready to endure all the problems with his hierarchy that would have followed. Instead, he took a breath and continued asking questions.
« Crime lords ? »
« Yea… Yeah. There is a bunch of these powerful guys that rule over the southern district because the City Guard does not go there anymore. They have their businesses, they fight each other and they do some pretty nasty stuff. But every time someone tries to either create his own organization or bring back basic laws, you can be sure they will meet up and find and agree to slit his throat. »
This was the turning point. The small piece of information that seems uninteresting, but that actually leads to a trail of other, more important details.
« The City Guard does not go to this part of city. Why so ? »
« They used to. But like what, fifty, sixty years ago, the population of Collina Meridiana tried to rise against the City Guard after years and years of unfair treatment. Only a week later, and with some help from the Army, the bodies of all the leaders of the revolt were hanging from the top of the walls. Ever since, the Guard surrounds the district, only allowing passage under heavy taxation. The crime lords took over, and a whole smuggling economy has developed for just about everything. »
As he explained, Makiel started to calm down while George still looked at him with a dark look.
« So the population is completely isolated from the rest of the city ? »
« Well yeah, except if you are a smuggler. The lockdown is full of holes if you know how to spot them. That's how the population survived ever since. »
George wrote down everything. One of these details could be the key element for a future operation.
« And do you know if those lords have any links with some high ranking officials of the Empire ? »
Of course they had. Those organizations were like the Mafia, and all of mafias had corrupted politics and police officers in their pocket.
« I… I don't know, answered the smuggler. I guess so, but I'm pretty sure it's only on a small scale. It's not like the Emperor would have anything to win from dealing with a bunch of criminals fighting over the rotten buildings of a hill. »
« So you only sold slaves to those lords in Meridiana ? »
« Yeah. Those that can afford slaves outside of Meridiana buy them on the regular slave market to show their wealth by openly paying taxes and getting high quality. And don't get me started on the Imperial Family. Their slaves are directly brought from every corner of the Empire by convoys escorted by the Imperial Army. »
The interrogator stopped for a second to think. Now, they had reached the point where the guy had told everything he knew for certain on that subject, he could feel it. Now it was the point where everything he was going to ask would have to be verified.
« You don't have any contact in the Imperial court, George continued, but have you heard any rumors revolving around it from other smugglers, or those lords ? »
Makiel scratched his head for a second before his eyes started to shine.
« You guys are this army from the other world that came through the Gate that everyone keeps talking about, right ? »
« Maybe. » answered George, not seeing where the smuggler was trying to go.
Makiel moved his body forward, just like he was trying to say something discretely.
« It's Bessara that told me this, and he apparently heard that from a City Guard officer that heard it from an Army officer that escort Imperial slaves. I don't know if it's true but… »
« Get to the point ! » interrupted George.
He did not know who this Bessara was, but he quickly made a note to remember to ask him.
« Alright, alright. Apparently, the latest group of slaves that the guy escorted was the smallest he had ever escorted. His team picked them up in Italica and… »
« The point ! »
« They came from your side of the Gate. »
It dropped like a bomb.
For a second, everything was blank. The words of the smugglers echoing in George's mind.
« Oh merde ! » he left out, almost bouncing off his chair and dashing towards the door before violently opening it.
When he slammed it shut, he immediately started to look at Frank, already putting a USB stick inside his computer.
« Bordel de merde ! » yelled the older intelligence officer, already looking for the video file.
None of them really knew what to say. It happened way too suddenly to rationally think about it.
It was only when Frank pulled off the flash drive, putting it in his pocket, and opened the exit door that he finally talked.
« Squeeze every last bit of information out of him ! I have to tell LaPointe about this. »
Imperial Capital, Jade Palace, February 7th 2017, 1110 AT
Under their rudimentary cloaks, the squad of Fantômes was following the old knight through the woods. Despite being escorted by a friendly, they were still at the heart of the enemy's territory, and the tension it created was clearly visible on every faces. The six operators were still maintaining the formation, covering every angle, like they were expecting a group of Imperial soldiers to jump out of the bushes with their swords drawn out.
A light wind was blowing in between the leaves, creating a small background noise that was masking the clicking of the modern equipment underneath the coats.
« You really should put yourself at ease, simply said Grey without even turning his head to look at his guests. The only armed men and women are under the orders of Her Highness. »
« With my experience, I can say that there is not a single safe place. » simply replied Sergei.
This was not only the opposition of two different worlds. This was the opposition of two ways of fighting. Large armies against small commandos. Bloody melees against tactical long ranges engagements. Shiny armors against camouflaged uniforms. The sword against the rifle.
The knight laughed as he continued to walk along the large trail, and the Fantômes continued to follow.
After another few minutes of walking in a relative silence, the strange looking group reached the end of the trail, the trees finally stopping to hide the scenery to reveal the main gardens of the Jade Palace.
Even if those gardens were not as big or as splendid as the gardens of Versailles, they were still an impressive sight. In between the trees, the sculptures and the small pools, there was a group of red, white and yellow tents. In the background was the Jade Palace, looking almost exactly like it had followed the architectural styles from both the Ancient Rome and the European renaissance.
Some of the operators whistled out of impressment as Grey was leading them through the park in direction of the large marble building. In the meantime, Sergei communicated with Danpré back at Camp Thunderhead.
In the middle of the tents, an older knight in a battle-scarred armor was watching over two young women dueling with wooden short swords, another group was practicing military march while other knights were happily chatting over some subject under the shade of a tree.
« Why can't we have barracks like that back home ? » launched Doré with his distinctive creole accent, looking with admiration at the statue of some goddess with long flowing hair.
« Don't hope anything, replied Sergei with a small smile. We are not here in holiday. »
Some of the other operators laughed, attracting the attention of some of the knights that were in the gardens. They had the same curious look, and the Fantômes could not really blame them. After all, they were complete foreigners arriving completely out of the blue in the middle of their safe area.
Quickly enough, they reached the large white stairs, leading to large wooden doors guarded by two other knights, this time wearing shinier parade armor and helmets with feathers of the three main colors of the order : red, yellow and white. Both of them saluted their superior, hitting their torsos near the heart with their fists. Grey returned the gesture before opening the large carved doors.
The large wooden panels revealed a large hall. Each marble wall was covered by geometrical patterns made out of jade, directly engraved into the white stone, symmetrical around the entry door. All along those walls were many different statues of what were without a doubt important figures of the Imperial history, creating what looked like a guard of honor that escort the visitor to monumental stairs.
As they went up the shiny steps, the general feeling that was shared by all the soldiers was the amazement of kids on a school trip at Versailles. It was a surreal experience, just like they had traveled through time back to the sixteenth century, while they just had traveled between two worlds through a magical gate.
The old knight then led them through similarly decorated corridors to a large antechamber. The walls were all covered in light red, almost pink, velvet. All around the room were seats, sofas and other expensive pieces of furniture, really showing the great wealth of the Rose Order. Just in front of the door the group has used to enter, there was another door, this time guarded by two honor guards with only red feathers on her helmets.
A knight, a young woman with short light-brown hair, was sitting behind a desk situated at equidistance from the two doors along the right wall for those that entered. She was wearing the white tunic that all the knights were wearing under their armor, and even this simple uniform had precisely been made with expensive fabric.
She raised her look from the large book she has been reading, revealing the small golden pendant that was on her forehead, when Grey stopped and saluted just like he had saluted the guards of the door. The young woman stood up, and with a much respect, she also saluted.
« Hamilton, started the old knight, I am sorry to interrupt your lecture, but the guests that Her Highness has been expecting just arrived. »
The name immediately ringed a bell in the mind of all the operators. They had already heard it during their briefing back at Alnus, associated with the photograph of a girl that had the face still marked by the horror of discovering what war truly meant. But a few months had passed, and with clean dressed hair and proper make-up, she was completely different from what was shown on the photo.
« Oh, she replied at first with surprise in her voice before turning her face to look at the group of cloaked men. Please, wait here while I inform the Princess about your arrival. »
She bowed and, with light steps, she disappeared behind the guarded door. A heavy silence settled inside the room as the operators spread out, looking curiously at the fancy furniture. Awkwardly, they did not dare to sit on the sofas, almost expecting a museum employee to come out of nowhere and ask them to leave. Meanwhile, the two door guards were not moving an inch.
« So, I have heard you made a good job in Italica… » said Grey, looking through the window at the group of knight that was practicing.
« Oh, you know, putting a few bricks back on a building and hunting down some unorganized bandits are not things that are difficult for us. » replied Sergei with a large smile.
The knight laughed.
« Are there even things that you find difficult ? »
« Well, give guns to those bandits, and things will quickly become harder for us. »
Sergei spoke out of experience. How many time has he saw simple teenagers barely knowing how to handle their AKs but being a great threat to trained soldiers ?
The two silently kept looking outside. Despite the surrounding, the leader of the Fantômes could fell, in the movements that the young women were repeating, the experience of those that had prepared those exercise. For a second, he wondered if the Princess had chosen all of them by herself, but he was interrupted by the sound of the door opening again.
Everyone turned around to see Hamilton standing still, one of the two door leaf wide open.
« Gentlemen, she started, Her Highness Pina Co Lada, the Third Imperial Princess will receive you. »
She then invited them to enter with a hand gesture, and the operators followed.
The reception room they enter was obviously as well decorated as the rest of the palace. In the middle was a group of large sofas all around what could be described as a coffee table.
« Please sit down. Her Highness is coming. »
The young woman passed through another door, leaving the men alone.
« I think you could put down the cloaks now. » invited Grey, pointing at a large coat rack.
Sergei nodded and, with more care than back at the walls, his subordinates took off the large pieces of cloth before hanging them on the rack.
For the Fantômes, finally sitting down on the comfortable cushions was a feeling that they had not felt for a long time. After the cargo bay of the Transall, the underground cache, the observation posts and the Spartan comfort of Camp Thunderhead, their backs had suffered like it did during their past operations in Africa or in the Middle East, but having such comfort suddenly thrown at them really made them feel their aching bones.
After this rush of emotion had passed, some started to check their now visible equipment. Grey watched them closely as they slightly pulled levers, checked pouches or tightened their vests. The metallic clicks and noises of bruising cloth were the only sounds filling the room. None of the men were saying anything and, in fact, nobody actually wanted to say anything.
It stayed like that for a few seconds before the door opened again.
« Her Highness Pina Co Lada, Third Imperial Princess. » announced Hamilton's voice.
Before they could see anything, the operators stood up and turned their head towards the door. Instead of the young brown haired knight, they saw a taller red haired woman that they all immediately recognized, despite looking way different from how she did the last time they had seen her.
She had traded the heavy ballistic vest and the civilian clothes for a long flowing toga of an immaculate white, and the messy red hair had been dressed in long elegant braids. On her forehead was a golden pendant encrusted with an expensive looking gem.
« Garde à vous ! » ordered Sergei with his powerful voice.
The twelve heels all struck the stone ground at the same time, each soldier now standing straight up. Grey saluted with again the same movement and the princess replied similarly before stepping towards Sergei. The leader of the Fantômes raised his right hand next to his forehead when she stopped in front of him.
« Sir Sergei, she started. What a pleasant surprise. I was not expecting your superiors to send some familiar faces. »
Her voice was soft and welcoming, not something that anyone would expect from the leader of a military unit.
« It is an honor, Your Grace. » replied the officer, putting his hand back down.
Behind her, a look of surprise appeared in Hamilton's eyes.
« With all due respect, your Highness, how do you know this man ? »
Grey slightly nodded, like to say that he also wanted to know the answer. This interest of her subordinates made something clear in all the operators' minds. The Princess had not talked about the assault of the inn to anybody, not even those that had followed her to Italica.
« Oh, this is a story too long to tell you about. Anyway, I had the guests' apartment prepared for you. They are situated in the attic. I will lead you. »
As the group went up smaller stairs and when Pina revealed the smaller but still luxurious apartments, something was clear in everybody's mind.
Everything was going according to the plan.
Camp Thunderhead, February 7th 2017, 1150 AT
« Copy that Fantôme Actual. We will start sending the equipment soon. Stand by for signal. Thunderhead out. »
Danpré put back the microphone of the radio back on the large brown device.
The operation center was situated inside what had been the bedroom of the smugglers' boss, being large enough to host everything needed to direct all the operations inside the capital. The other small bedrooms of the floor had been transformed into storage, the rooms providing enough spaces for the different crates, ammunition boxes and weapon crates. The large unique space of the ground floor became the common dormitory of the camp, with cots placed in rows to give the soldiers a place to sleep.
Outside, the combat engineers had started to transform the free space into suitable landing areas for helicopters, tearing down the stone wall and installing fuel tanks and a radar, hidden under large camouflaged netting.
The engineers also cleaned the inside of the warehouse, washing away the dirt, hay and body fluids and were working on a extension. Originally, the building was supposed to host a helicopter capable of quickly deploying inside the capital if need be or sending back to Alnus something that cannot wait the rotation of the Chinooks. But at this time, it hosted the last slaves that waited their extraction in way better conditions than the ones created by the smugglers, even with the engineers working.
Overall, it was truly a real small base, situated a dozen of kilometers away from where the leader of their enemy lived.
They were going to operate just in front of their eyes, and each move needed careful planning. And that kind of planning needed maps.
A lot of maps.
One of them had been rolled open on the large table of the command center. It was a large group of aerial photographs of the Imperial Capital. With several colorful markers, the most important buildings of the city were highlighted.
Danpré was not the only one looking at it. Soul and Fünf were also closely inspecting it, whispering between each other.
« You guys are ready ? » asked the COS officer.
« We are ready to go to the palace, Sir. But we still have a problem to solve. » answered Soul, scratching his head.
Danpré raised a confused eyebrow. He had not uttered a single word, yet everyone understood the question he was asking.
« Well, started Fünf as he pointed a red marker at the north of the city, the Jade Palace is here. From there, we can safely go and observe the targets situated in the northern part of the city. The thing is that there are targets in the south too. It would be too risky to have operators always going through the city between the Palace and the observations posts. »
« What we need is a safe house in the southern part of the city. And we have barely any information on that part of the city. » continued Soul with what felt like a bit of annoyance in his voice.
Suddenly, Fünf watch beeped. It was a discreet sound, and the young soldier was the only one to hear it. After quickly checking the time, he grabbed the light brown cap that had been on a small shelf and left the room, saying that he was coming back in a few minutes.
« Maybe we will find out with what the smugglers have to say. » commented Danpré, but those words were faint as Fünf went down the stairs.
In the common room, a few soldiers were sleeping while other were eating, directly sitting on their beds. Fünf did not pay attention to them as he left the building. The light of the midday sun started to shine on his face, not a single cloud getting in its way. With a gesture he had already did a thousand time, he put the cap on his head and started to walk towards the warehouse.
He was welcomed by a few slaves, smiling at him as he passed through the now opened door. He simply waved hello to them before heading in the direction of an animal transport cage that was directly on the floor. The square door was shut, but the holes in the panel revealed several blankets stuffed into the plastic box and who had been living in it for the past few days.
Fünf knelt down in front of it and, very lightly, he knocked on the cage before opening it.
« Hey there, he said with his sweetest voice as the small fox figure slowly woke up. It is time for your food. »
He grabbed a can of dog food from the nearby pile that he had managed to import from Alnus, before pouring its content in a large wooden bowl. The small fox exited his cage and stretched before sitting down next to the operator, wagging its tail.
Fünf put down the bowl and made a step back, letting the fox dive its nose into the food. Calling her, because it was a she, a fox would technically be wrong. During his youth, he had seen many foxes in the fields around his house, and he had noticed that she was slightly larger and had a smaller nose than those that he had seen.
He was not feeling like giving her a name, perfectly knowing than he would probably not have the chance to see her after the end of the operation.
« You are one lucky girl… » he simply said, simply petting her as she continued to eat.
All of this was bringing back to him the sweet memories of taking care of stray dogs lost in the Alsacian countryside, and it made him smile.
When she finished, Fünf tried to reach for a collar and a leash to take her for a walk. But before he could close it around her neck, she jumped away from his grasp, running towards the open door.
« Ah shit… » he left out.
With the time needed to react, she was already a good distance away when he started to stand and run at the same time.
She changed direction when she exited the warehouse, running alongside the wall, faster than what he had expected. Some engineers that were still working outside turned their head to look at this chase that felt like directly coming out of a cartoon, and a few started to move like to intercept the animal.
With the same movement, she changed direction again when she reached the corner of the building, diving out of everybody's sight.
Fünf started to sprint as fast as he could to reach the corner too. And when he finally reached it, there were no fox.
Instead, there was a bright white silhouette that was changing form, all while shining of a blinding light.
« What the fuck ? »
Hello reader, and thanks for reading Chapter 22 of Gate : Opération Marteau de Justice.
I think this chapter is probably one of the fastest I have ever written, thanks to being on holidays. In fact, there was so much time between when I wrote the last line and the release date that I decided to work on a project I had in my head for quite a long time now. For now, it is just a two thousand words one-shot, but if I manage to find some time, thing that will be kind of hard seeing the upcoming school year, I will continue it. If you are interested, the link to this new story is on my profile.
Anyway, about this chapter. It focuses mainly on the true contact between the Fantôme team and the Rose Order. I'm maybe repeating myself, but I find weird that none of the main stories, and even the canon, describe this part. For the next chapter, expect the first diplomatic talks, as well as explenations over what is going on at the end of the chapter.
Now, it's time for the reviews.
Major Simi - Thanks.
random123games - Welp. There it is.
Junior VB - Small clarification: it's Pina that says she is waiting for the French, not the Emperor.
alexisdu7442 - Pour l'instant, je n'ai pas vraiment d'idée qui n'impliquerai que les américains. Peut-être que ça viendra, qui sait ?