World Filter

Confusion blindsided Mark.

What were they talking about? Who was on trial? Moving his full attention onto the two new individuals in the room. They were both men and had different patches on their shoulders denoting them as first and second lieutenants. The First lieutenant carried a large silver briefcase and remained silent while the second began to talk.

“Good evening Majors, I am second Lieutenant Bix, and this is first Lieutenant Nole. We are here under orders from Colonel Rachel Brown to help asses the continued viability of this safe zone”

Mark took their words in and tried to understand what they were saying. As far as he could remember the Major had spoken about a Company of the army helping to transport the non-combatants to the main island in Manhattan. Mark then realized that the time they were supposed to come had passed. Which meant they were now deciding on whether they should send the company at all.

Mark hadn’t realized how important this meeting was, his thoughts ran a mile a minute, figuring out the repercussions of this decision for all the people in these walls.

This wasn’t anyone person on trial, their whole camp was.

Major Liam spoke up and he didn’t look happy

“What is the meaning of this, we were promised an extraction if we held out till the determined date, for what reason are you hesitating? My men die on the wall every night.”

Lieutenant Bix did not look shaken in the least and said.

“Major Liam Grantwood, I understand your confusion but I don’t have the authority or the information you seek. Colonel Rachel Brown will explain everything shortly but first, we need to confirm something”

Lieutenant Bix seemed to pause as if waiting for something. Then Lieutenant Nole stepped forward.

“Hello, I’m now going to check everyone here for outside influences. In no way will I enter your minds but a surface-level check will be able to tell if any magic is being used on you please work with me here”

Without waiting for an okay, the Mana in the room began to churn. Then as if released from a cage tendrils of Mana exploded out into the tent, originating from Nole. There was a distinct similarity between this and Mark's [Mind spike] but where Mark create one powerful connection. This spell was made up of hundreds of weak thread-like bridges that expanded into the space.

They seemed to be searching for something and as they passed each person they would brush up against their minds. The magic moved rapidly through the tent, never staying for long but Mark noticed some people in the room would sway or put a hand to their heads as if dizzy. Mark turned his head to see how Sam was dealing with this and saw her frowning.

Seeing as she wasn’t reacting Mark assumed this was something she was used to.

The magic searched the room and quickly reached Sam and Mark, at almost the same time. Sam's natural Mana seemed to push the Lieutenant’s spell back stopping it from approaching any further, while the Mana that arrived near Mark came into contact with his construct, wrapping around it but finding no openings.

Lieutenant Nole’s head snapped up as he looked over at them startled expression.

“You two, please lower your guards and deactivate any spells or items”

To be honest, Mark had forgotten he even had his construct in place. It had become second nature to have the thing up now because of the lower cost. Mark noticed Sam seemed to concentrate and slowly the Lieutenant’s Mana was able to approach. She had to willing lower her mental guard, and knowing her that couldn't be easy.

Seeing as Sam complied Mark saw no harm and lowered his barrier.

The moment he did he felt the Mana try and connect to his mind, it struggled at first but as Mark lowered his guard it pushed past his natural defenses. It felt wrong to lower his defenses like this, in the same way, he knew purposefully placing a hand on a hot stove is wrong.

When the connection was made it was gentle, completely the opposite of [Mind Spike’s] violent nature. The connection was shallow and after the smallest searching probe of Mana, it faded. Though Mark knew, if he wanted, he’d be able to strengthen the connection and attack the Lieutenant's mind, and while it was short Mark saw another method in which to use Mental magic. The tendrils moved on and finished checking the rest of the room, finally returning back to the first Lieutenant.

After a pause, Lieutenant Bix stepped back up. Taking the silver briefcase he placed it on the table and input a code.

The case snapped open and inside a simple computer had been set into its lining. Lieutenant Bix typed something on the keypad, flipping the case back to face the Majors and by extension everyone else.

A call looked like it was going through and after a brief wait, the device connected.

On-screen sat a small woman with impeccably neat hair and uniform. Behind her several aids and officers worked busily. Beyond her office was a glass wall that opened out into another room that looked like some large situation room. The Colonel sat facing the camera with her back to the chaos behind her.

“Greetings Major Karter Dureal, Major Liam Grantwood. Let's get down to business. I’ve been sent your civilian intakes, casualty reports, and expected enemy projections in your area. I’ll be blunt. I’m not seeing a particularly encouraging picture here and am honestly considering withdrawing our troops from this sector. Is there any reason either of you can put forward to warrant the losses I’m seeing?”

‘Shit, this was not a good start’ was all Mark could think.

Major Dureal stood up and said.

“Ma’am, we have over a thousand non-combatants here and just as many fighters. As of late, we have suffered losses but I believe as an asset we are still viable. We have provided HQ with large amounts of information on our enemy's abilities and habits. Continued surveillance may reveal previously unknown weaknesses. Which is why I’m of the opinion that withdrawal of our forces would be a mistake”

Mark had to admit he was impressed, the Major had reacted quickly and produced a reason that -at least to Mark's ears- was variable.

The Colonel seemed to take this into account, scribbling something down, she silently waited for them to continue.

Then Major Liam stood as well.

“Colonel, If I may what about the Company that was supposed to arrive?”

The Colonel nodded, expecting the question.

“Unfortunately Major Liam the force that was originally assigned to your district has been reassigned to priority targets. The fact of the matter is that your area is only the fourteenth biggest survivor camp in our proximity”

Soft whispers filled the room as they confirmed that no help would be coming. Mark wondered for a moment why she would allow this information beyond just the majors and realized she just didn’t have the luxury to control this kind of information. If they were the fourteenth biggest camp that meant she was coordinating the retrieval of dozens of camps and they had to be dealing with much the same situations as their safe zone.

Major Liam seemed stunned and sat down, deep in thought.

The woman was operating entirely objectively and to her, the people here were just a number on a screen. She was trying to make sure to save the biggest number of lives but that meant cutting her losses when the expended resources outweighed the gains.

Mark couldn’t help the anger that ignited in his chest. He knew that if things continue to grow at the rate they were, eventually they would slip up, this base was never meant to be a permanent solution but he had hoped they could last just a little bit longer. Though real safety was a straight shot up north across the Brooklyn bridge where the army's main forces resided.

Major Dureal hadn’t given up yet though.

“Ma’am, with no additional resources, how long would we have to hold out for, if we were to try and wait for a company to become available?”

The Cononel’s brow rose a fraction of an inch, reaching back she held out her hand. As if rehearsed, one of the aids handed her a tablet. She tapped on the screen and after a while faced the camera once more.

“One month at the very least”

Mark almost laughed at her.

They were barely two weeks into this disaster, there was no telling what would happen in that amount of time.

“Then if we can hold out till then-”

Suddenly Major Liam interrupted him.

“If that is the case then I believe a full-scale retreat like the Colonel suggested would be in our best interests. As we are right now, we lose good men on the wall by the day. It's a hard decision to make Colonel, but if we try and outlast this as Major Dureal is suggesting, then there will be no one left to recover and we would lose strength we would have otherwise used to help Manhatten”

Once the Major said this, whispers burst out in the room once more. He wasn’t saying what Mark thought he was saying, right?

Voluntarily abandoning the non-combatants? Mark had never liked the man but he never would have expected this.

The Colonel suggesting it was rough but understandable. She could not see the situation on the ground, she needed to make a judgment call based on the Majors opinions.

The fact that the suggestion had come from within their own command structure hinted that the base was beyond saving and gave the Colonel even more reason to doubt their ability to survive.

“Fucking bastard,” Jonathan said next to Mark and didn’t even try to whisper.

“Another reason! SAGE’s absolute disregard for military code! We won’t survive divided like this” Major Liam hissed.

The whispers had turned to full-blown panic by now.

The colonel injected even more authority into her voice.

“Enough! Major Dureal get your men in line. Do either of you have anything to add?”

The sounds calmed slightly.

"Ma'am, SAGE's success rate on difficult missions is second to none, allow us the chance to-"

"Major Dureal I'm aware of SAGE's competence. It is one of the reasons I want you back here. We need all the competent forces we can muster right now. If there is nothing else..."

She spoke as if asking a question but it was more of an order to silence.

When they both shook their heads and she continued.

“Fine, then I’m hereby ordering the retreat of all military forces and assets. This includes SAGE. Taking your opinion into account Major Dureal you will be given an additional three days for a total of seven days, to physically report to HQ. I recommend an information blackout during your extraction as disturbing the non-combatants will cause problems. I'll leave the decision on whether to transport the civilians to your judgment but do not allow that to affect your chances of a full retreat. Major Liam Grantwood you are in charge of this operation. If my orders are not followed to the letter I will court-martial the lot of you. During this time my lieutenants will monitor the situation and have my express permission to act in accordance with my orders. I’m I understood gentlmen?!”

Major Liam was standing and saluting in seconds. Major Dureal followed suit but he looked like it was killing him to do so.

Mark watched as the connection cut off and the screen went black Second Lieutenant Bix closed the case.

“That is all the information we have for you right now. We’ll remain on site to monitor the proceedings. Should an information blackout be invoked, we will assist wherever we can. If the Colonel has any more updates for you we will be in touch”

The two left the tent in a manner that didn't look like they had just delivered disastrous news.

For Mark, the cherry on this shit cake was the fact that the Colonel had put Major Liam in charge, the man had been trying to assert control over the camp from day one and now he’d just been given free rein.

The two lieutenants leaving were the breaking of the floodgates. Everyone started arguing the moment the tent flap closed. Each voice shouted over one another to be heard above the crowd. The yelling rose, and all the while the Majors just sat there silently. They were simply staring at one another as if having some conversation none of them were privy to.

Suddenly Major Liam got up, and the scrapping of his chair silenced the room.

“I am aware you do not agree Karter, but in this case, we need to be smart. Getting to HQ should be our priority. For now, we need to work this out. I’m using the authority granted to me to follow the Coronel's suggestion and implement an information hold. You and I shall meet tomorrow morning to discuss this at length”

With that Major Liam got up and began to leave the tent too.

Jonathan's face was a mask of rage, he was about to take a step towards the Major when Mark shot out his hand and placed it firmly on his chest, stopping him.

Jonathan’s head snapped round to Mark and he could feel the man's Aura fighting to manifest.

Mark simply shook his head. To reinforce this Sam turned her back on the Majors and blocked Jonathan’s path forward. Her face was equal parts anger and sorrow, anything they did right now would weaken her father's position further and she was not about to let that happen. When Jonathan saw this he seemed to get a handle on himself, swallowing his frustration the Major left the tent unimpeded.