Fantine X HQ
An undisclosed location along the Fantine valley and the Prefontaine mountain range
21: 23 hours
"Careful, you don't want to wake him."
"No worries, he had one too many Arteyzian coolers. He should be conked out for a while."
Feeling a moist substance on his forehead, Ari's eyelids fluttered as bright lights bore down upon him. Letting out a weak moan, the veteran pilot woke to find himself slumped over a command desk, gazing up at the faces of his fellow pilots Adlan and Strygar. Squinting his eyes against the blinding lights of the briefing room, the pilot glanced between his two colleagues with a baffled expression.
"What's going on?" He blinked as he gazed between his fellow pilots, who were trying really hard to suppress their laughter.
Adlan smirked. "Um, nothing."
Strygar sneered."Yeah, it's nothing."
Ari stared at the brown-haired Prefontainian to his left before moving his sight to the olive-skinned Veronian to his right. He could tell by the goofy expressions on their faces that they were being disingenuous.
"Guys, just admit it. If I find out you are lying, I will personally pulverize you both. Did you do something to my face again while I was asleep?"
Unable to hold in his laugh for long, Adlan gave into fits of laughter as did Strygar. "Use your transponder as a mirror and you will see."
I knew it! They can't resist my face once I fall asleep. Now they made me look like a damned Dathorian.
Ari used his communicator as a mirror to see horns drawn on the edges of his head as well as circles and a mustache inserted onto his face. It seems as if his face had become a prehistoric drawing board for these clowns. Fuming, he faced them as the bright lights only made them appear as silhouettes against a navy blue background.
"This is getting out of hand. My face isn't a TechPad, you know? Now I am really going to clobber you!"
Before he could lunge at his fellow flyers, the door burst open and Mikhail, Calhoun, and several other members of the Fantine X Corps filed into the room. Mikhail was the current Director of Operations while Calhoun was the Defense Coordinator. Also among the ones present are Heinrich- the chief of the shocktroopers, Zayda-leader of the strike teams and intelligence, Sentery-the public relations officer, and finally Skandar-the leader of the armored columns. Ari himself was recently promoted as the leader of the flight team, the backbone of the Fantine Air Corps. After all, air superiority is the defining component of the Air Corps.
"Alright, I know you had quite a rowdy day with the celebrations, but it is imperative we get back into gear. I am afraid I bear dire news for you all," Mikhail addressed the group as they were seated at the table.
"Oh please." Scottie, one of Skandar's lieutenants, groaned. "Please don't tell me Force X is at it again? I thought we had bombed their strongholds into oblivion. "
Mikhail ran a hand through his graying hair. "Oh, it isn't them. It's not even the Northern Orc Brigade or the Thugs of Verona. The threat is far more menacing than we initially thought."
"Oh, is there a worse threat than any terrorist group?" Ari frowned. The rest of the attendees murmured in agreement.
"Ah, I am afraid there is."
The Director took out a Hologram player and set it on the table. The room was lit by a bluish hue with the insignia of the Royal family before the face of Defense Chief Rexxan appeared.
"Good evening, peacekeepers. I am well aware that you may not be expecting a summons from us at this time, but we wouldn't feel the need to contact you at this very hour if the issue wasn't critical. Just a few hours ago, our UAVs recorded this disturbing event that happened in Kithan. I will patch it in now."
The occupants of the room watched anxiously as the feed showed aerial footage of armored vehicles and troops enter a large city assumed to be Kittyopolis, a great hub of commerce between the Great Kingdoms and the Beyond. Ari clenched his fist as he watched the defending military fight a futile defense against the invaders. What caught his attention were the tanks and troops used by the invaders.
Nightmares, Tigers, and Panthers? Only SFF utilizes those.
The Survivalist Federation Force was thought to be defeated several years ago at the battle of Gorlag's Fist with most of their leadership and brigades killed, imprisoned, or incapacitated. Furthermore, only SFF used Gamran mercenaries. This surely didn't mean that an old nemesis was back, did it?
"Is that the SFF emblem?" Zayda gasped, her bright blue eyes wide in disbelief.
Peering closer, Ari noticed the dreaded skull and rifle symbol on a soldier's helmet, confirming the soldier's allegiance.
"Indeed it looks like it," Adlan chimed in. "However, there is a possibility that this may be a copycat group or maybe the Kaneen had disguised themselves to avoid the wrath of the Kingdoms for their breach of the Kithar-Kaneen Treaty."
"Not likely." Sentry spoke up. "I don't see one Kaneen soldier among the invaders. This new threat has to be attributed to SFF. After all, none of the Kithar or the Kaneen possess tanks or weapons that are advanced in that caliber."
The hologram then returned to the weathered face of the Defense chief.
"Our worst fears are confirmed. Our old foe SFF have returned more powerful than ever. It may be possible that they may be under a new chain of command, but one thing is clear. They must be stopped before they are allowed to expand. I shudder to think of the consequences if we allow that to happen. Now, if we are to take action against our foe, we need to learn more about them. In order to do so, we need to extract a former Kithan soldier. " A rotating hologram of a Kithan soldier with orange and brown stripes appeared. "He has the information about the invaders that is critical for us to know in order to launch a successful counterattack. We would have gladly extracted him, but it seems it would be more convenient for an Air Corps like you to take on this task. After all, you have more resources for this type of endeavor and you are within close proximity to the Northwestern Territories unlike us. It would be optimal for us to pass the torch to you as using your planes will conserve more fuel. Good luck!"
As the hologram switched off, Mikhail cleared his throat and glanced at everyone. "I am confident you know the drill, but I need to ask you this. Are there any questions? "Seeing no hands raised, the Director of Operations smiled warmly. "Very well, how soon can you launch an extraction force."
Ari, Zayda, and Heinrich exchanged glances before the former returned his gaze to his superior. "In about fifteen minutes."
"Good" Mikhail smiled, crossing his arms. "Although I'd recommend that you wash off your facepaint before you load your aircraft."
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