He woke up early in the morning and got ready, just like everyone else. The corridors were buzzing with soldiers, moving with coordinated precision, it almost seemed like they were hypnotized. Everyone wore a confident expression on their faces, but they also knew better. Deep down they were not just afraid, they were terrified.
Today, they were leaving for the suicide mission after all. Even though they did not know that.
He sat down on his bed and looked at the glass bottle in his hand. He looked at the intricate and gorgeous floral design on the bottle with a complicated expression. He decided to not think about it too much and just focus on the mission. He should have enough time to think about this on the train...
He left his room and headed outside. The soldiers were already gathering, arranging themselves in a complex way that would make a mundane human dizzy. The five great members of the Command Center and the General's cohort stood in front of the soldiers. Leutenant Luster - the newbie -, Captain Argeis, Major Black, Colonel Jenna and Commader Jackson. The General himself was among them. And behind them..
Benji saw a few familiar faces amongst the few soldiers that stood behind them. There were twenty four of these soldiers to be exact. He saw Madison, Oliver, James and Rose-Anne among them, and instantly knew what to do. He headed towards his cohort and stood amongst them, ignoring all the eyes that followed him. They all greeted him, but he could sense that the atmosphere was tense. Probably because they knew exactly what was going to happen..
After the General was done discussing something among this cohort of elites, he turned to the soldiers and greeted them. They saluted back with voices full of pride, respect and reverence. After introducing himself he did a short briefing about how important the mission was to humanity and they could not afford to fail.
"...The importance of this mission is not to say the lives of my men do not matter either. Which brings me to the incident that happened yesterday evening. I trust that you are all well-informed about yesterday night's incident."
He was silent for a few moments and then sighed.
"The killer had gone too far this time. Yesterday we lost not one, not two but a dozen of our soldiers. This matter cannot be taken lightly anymore. That is why I have decided to stay behind and make sure everything is taken care of."
He turned and looked at his cohort.
"You can put all your faith in Commander Jackson, just as i have. He will lead you with honestly, fairness and transparency, just like he had always done in the past. I on the other hand, will arrange so that the families of our fallen comrades are informed and the funeral processions move along smoothly. As for the murderer..."
He clicked his tongue.
"I and other comrades who will stay behind, will carry out an active investigation and get to the bottom of this matter. If it so happens that the killer has gone to the mission as well, i have instructed the Command Center to carry out an investigation of their own. I will now let Commander Jackson instruct you on how you are supposed to proceed next."
The soldiers saluted and cheered for him loudly and he steeped down the stage and headed for his vehicle. The military vehicle was huge, but not exactly a deformed size and shape as well. Some would argue that it was just an ordinary vehicle but at a military scale. A guant soldier opened the door for him and they drove off.
Commader Jackson meanwhile, briefed them for a short while and gave them clear instructions on how to proceed. The were going to travel by train to the deport, where a navy ship was waiting for them. The ship was already loaded with supplies and everything they were going to need, except the carriable ones of course.
The Command Center along with the special cohorts will travel ahead of the military, so they would arrive about a month or two before the Main Evacuation Army arrived. They were going to use the arial mode of transportation, so it would be faster. Once they arrive, there were supposed to establish strongholds east of the Southern Regions.
After that they would follow the initial strategy and slowly advance into the continent.
After the Commander was done with the instructions, the whole base was buzzing again. Dozens of military vehicles were scattered across the Military Base. They were so large that each vehicle could fit more than a dozen soldiers. The General's cohort had their own vehicle, and so did the other special cohorts. Well.. not exactly, considering that there were two cohorts per vehicle, and there were five cohorts.
Do not ask me how the third cohort managed. I do not know either.
The rest of the soldiers filled the other vehicles and they drove off. The mood inside the Benji's vehicle was sour. The silence was heavy and the tension was unbearable. Which suited Benji just fine because he was not really in the mood to talk either. The ride was short. About thirty minutes of transversing the empty forest, they finally reached the train they were going to board.
The train itself was huge, like really huge. It was so long that Benji could not even see where it ended. It probably stretched for dozens of kilometers into the distance. It almost seemed abundant. Their superiors bordered first and were assigned accordingly. The special cohorts followed next. They were given card that granted them access to good quality bedrooms and even special treatment.
The rest of the soldiers bordered and the train began moving west. It moved slowly at first, but then the pace gradually increased until it was almost as fast as lightning.
Almost.
***
Somewhere inside the train, Jack sat a chair as he looked around the makeshift office they prepared for him. It was impressive, but he still missed his real one. On his hand he held a small notebook, and there was a frown on his face. The longer he read the notebook, the more he got confused.
He put the journal down and picked up his communication device. He clicked on a few buttons, and requested to see his assistant immediately. Shortly after that, a young woman knocked and entered the office. He did not even wait for the assistant to greet him, and handed her the journal with a silent question in his eyes.
"Uhm sir, what is this?"
He raised his eyebrow.
"I should be asking you that."
"I am sorry sir but I cannot assist you with this matter."
Jack titled his head.
"And why exactly is that?"
"Because sir, you told me to never come close to your schedule again. That is why you started writing it down, because you did not trust that I had access to it in your communicator."
"I did that?"
"Yes you did sir."
Jack was so confused. What the hell was messing with him? Who the hell would play such a uncouth prank? Do they not know who he was? Did they have no idea what he was capable of? Was it that boy? But that boy did not seem like the type to do something like this. So was it? Who had the nerve to alter his work schedule?
Was it really altered in the first place?
How was he ever going to find out? The way he saw it, there was only one way to the get to the bottom of this. Talk to the boy himself.
"Lina, if i truly had meetings with this boy, then there should be records on either our communicators, should there not?"
The assistant sighed.
"No, I do not think so. You stopped recording records of meetings and minutes on your communicator. When I asked you the reason, you told me that they are watching and if they found out all hell would break loose."
"Who?! Who is watching?"
Lina was silent for a few moments and then looked at him somberly.
"I do not know sir. That is what you said. You told me that I should not know too much because my thoughts were not safe, and that my life would be in danger. So you stopped recording your private meetings so that i did not come across what toi were discussing with Mr Walker."
Jack cursed out loud and rubbed his temples in frustration. He threw a cold gaze at his assistant and spat through his gritted teeth.
"Find him. Find that boy and bring him here. I want to know exactly what he knows. I want an explanation now dammit!"
"Yes sir."
The assistant was practically shivering at that point. Even she knew better than to anger the infamous Major Black. The angel of death himself. The bloodlusted and cold bastard that did not think twice before severing someone's head off. She bowed slightly and left the office.
After a short while, Jack heard the familiar gentle knock on the door, even though he had not idea where he had heard it from.
"Come in."
His tone was much calmer now, and had regained its familiar cold indifference. The door opened and he saw an awfully familiar face walk though the door.
Benjamin looked as frail as ever.