World Filter

Mark and Jonathan left the research tent as fast as they safely could and when they got outside Mark lifted into the air.

“Sam which direction are we heading in?”

He asked through the comms. She responded right away telling them to head the northernmost section.

Taking off they both headed in that direction. For Mark it was easy but Jonathan had to take people and infrastructure into account. Causing more destruction now was not in anyone's best interest. Mark was about to suggest they use the platforms but as it turned out Jonathan didn’t need help. He dashed through the settlement, avoiding all obstacles with ease. At one point he saw the guy back-flipping over a tent and just knew he was showing off.

Mark saw a commotion near the wall and assumed that was what they were looking for. Mark landed in the area, and a couple of seconds later Jonathan darted out from the maze of tents.

Looking around Mark tried to take in the situation. There was indeed a crowd of people here but the majority were just bystanders. The main problem was a small group of about twenty people. In front of them and a group of soldiers were blocking their path.

As the two of them got closer Mark recognized one of the men from the group of civilians. He was one of the district heads that had been in the meeting yesterday. He was a district head, part of the food supply and acquisition department. So Joslin’s boss. Mark could hear him screaming the loudest.

“You can’t keep me here, I have the right to leave whenever I want to, now move!”

The soldier in the front seemed to be trying to de-escalate the situation but they weren’t having it.

“Ladies and gentlemen, right now my orders are only to let people out that have a permit and sign the waiver. If you don’t have these things I can’t let you out for your own safety”

This was not what the group wanted to hear; many voices raised to argue with the man, some filled with curses, others desperate pleas.

Mark was making his way through the crowd when he spotted two soldiers coming up from behind. It only took a moment to register that it was the two lieutenants that had first delivered the message. Lieutenant Bix and Lieutenant Nole came up behind the soldiers to reinforce them. The lead backed down when he saw them and let them take over.

The district head saw them and spoke up.

“Please, get them to let us out. I won’t stay here if we are all just waiting to die!”

Lieutenant Bix seemed to shake his head.

“While I understand where you are coming from, I have orders, and so do these men. Please understand we are just doing our jobs, return to your homes, we can’t let you out if you don’t have the relevant paperwork”

Mark and Jonathan were close to the group now and it was because of this he saw one of the younger men activate a skill.

“We don’t have homes because you couldn’t do your job!”

Small sparks wreathed his hand and dashed forward and punched one of the outermost soldiers.

The man went flying and crashed to the ground, his whole body shaking as if he'd just been hit with a stun gun.

The whole area froze and then disaster hit. When the soldier saw one of their own attacked they reacted all at once. Skills and spells blazed to life.

While on the other side, the young man was joined by more of the group.

“Just let us leave!” voices went up from the crowd

At this time, Jonathan and Mark got to the front as the group attacked. Suddenly Lieutenant Nole was surrounded with Mana and a wave of shadows exploded out of him. One moment, it was mid-afternoon, and the next, it was darker than a starless night. Sound seemed to dampen around them.

Mark would equate it to a dense smoke screen as it rapidly ate ground, pulling a good amount of the street into it. The bystanders fled from the growing mist of shadow.

Mark immediately expanded his construct to cover a larger area. The moment he did, the Mana in the Lieutenant’s spell reacted and tried to push his spell back, and while Mark could actually feel the Lieutenant’s Mana was stronger than his, the nature of their spells were completely opposite. Giving Mark the advantage and resulting in pushing the Lieutenant's spell back easily.

Light did not return in his construct but Mark didn’t need it to. He could see everything anyway.

Mark continued to expand his construct until he felt the two groups fighting. Mark looked to his side and saw two glowing eyes shining from the darkness, which he could easily tell was Jonathan.

The fight up ahead was already almost over. The soldiers had almost completely crushed the other group's resistance in an instant.

Moving forward Mark created some light for the benefit of everyone and the moment he did people turned to face them. The civilians lay collapsed on the floor, while others cradled injuries. None of the soldiers were particularly hurt, with the exception of the first man hit, but even he was up and recovering.

By creating the light Mark had also announced their presence and the moment he did the remaining eyes fell on them.

Jonathan stepped forward as a member of SAGE.

“As much as I love fighting this is probably not the best use of our time.”

Lieutenant Bix stepped forward.

“Jonathan Wilson of SAGE. As you saw these people attacked your men. Luckily we were here to help or things could have gotten dicey”

Jonathan sighed as of he didn’t want to deal with this.

“It wouldn’t have gotten to this stage if you’d just let them go, even I can agree it was in self-defense but that's not what the people out there will see”

The lieutenant frowned as Jonathan continued.

“If you had just let them leave this would have ended so much quicker”

“I’m sorry you feel that way Mr. Wilson but I have my orders.”

The Lieutenant didn’t look even slightly remorseful.

Jonathan looked like he expected as much.

“At this point, what does it matter? People are free to choose if they want to leave. This event is going to reflect badly on us. We might even have to release the news earlier than intended to avert a riot. Now I not saying this is all your fault but this could have been avoided if they had just been allowed to leave quietly”

Jonathan was staring harshly at the district head that had started all of this.

“Unfortunately, my orders still stand, this man is a threat to the blackout so he needs to be monitored”

Jonathan looked exhausted by this conversion.

“Who would he even tell out there? No. Lieutenant, these men are free to go. If they want to take the chance out there, it's their right”

The Lieutenant didn’t look like he was going to budge.

“Our orders are there for a reason. What if he goes and tells another group and that further destabilizes your situation here? Then you have just one more threat at your front door. I can’t allow that Mr. Wilson”

Mark could feel Aura was leaking out of the Lieutenant now. It felt thin and elusive. Mark could definitely tell it was strong but unlike Jonathan's, it almost seemed to divert one's attention. The more of his Aura that filled the space the harder it became to focus on where he actually stood. Mark blinked a couple of times as his eyes played tricks on him. It felt like starting at a heat shimmer. Luckily his construct couldn’t be tricked in the same way and even though it didn’t feel like the man was still there, he actually hadn’t moved from his spot.

“Then we got a problem because you coming into my home and giving me orders pisses me off”

Jonathan's Aura exploded out into the area and Mark's eyes widened in surprise. Was he really releasing his Aura here? Contrary to Mark’s expectations, Jonathan's Aura narrowed into and cone and condensed around them, leaving the people behind them alone. Mark was impressed by the level of control Jonathan had gained in such a short time but he was even more impressed that The Lieutenant didn’t fold like a house of cards. His Aura shrunk as if contained but that was all, the Lieutenant seemingly able to hold his own.

Lieutenant Nole was not idle either as shadow condensed into the area, Mark felt the darkness was laced with a minor fear effect as it tried to get in.

Realizing that if this conversation didn’t take a quick turn, they would all end up doing something they didn’t want, and a fight here was not good for anyone.

“How about we get them the permission they need?”

Up until now the only person to actually pay Mark any attention was Lieutenant Nole as he tried to find a way into Mark’s construct but as he spoke now Lieutenant Bix turned to look at him.

“Hmm… Civilian Mark Young, correct? Forgive me, but I was led to believe you were a neutral party that only moves for money. What reasons could you have to stick your nose into this”

Mark wore a strained smile on his face, is that what the bigwigs thought of him? To be fair he’d given them more than enough reason to think that, but seeing as they already had him squared away, he could use this to his advantage.

“Well to be honest I work in the medical tent and if you fight here, I’ll have twice the work helping with the injuries you’ll no doubt cause. So to save me some time and effort, if we get them permission to leave, will you let this go?”

Mark had just used the first excuse that came to mind, honestly if they did fight, Mark would do his best to mitigate the damages. He was just trying to call attention to their surroundings.

Luckily it seemed to work as Lieutenant Bix seemed to think this over. After a short while, he began talking again.

“If it comes signed directly from the Majors then sure, but until then we will hold them. We are well within our rights to contain them after the stunt they pulled”

Mark could understand that, but maybe there was a way to mitigate the situation.

“How about we secure their help?” Mark point to the unfortunate people on the ground.

“If they go willingly with you, the people out there will feel more at ease”

Lieutenant Bix seemed to look at Jonathan to see how he was reacting.

Mark looked over as well and saw him snort, then making eye contact with Mark he nodded. At the same time, he retracted his Aura. The Lieutenant took a little longer to retract his but it also dissipated after a moment.

Mark got to work on the unconscious civilians, connecting to each of them and flooding them with Prana. This was no time to be conservative, so he worked through them as quickly as he was able. Not everyone on the ground was unconscious, some were just in a great deal of pain and couldn’t think through it. Mark got them up and around in less than a minute, prioritizing the district head first. Jonathan had explained the situation to the man. His panicked demeanor lessened as he spoke and though it took a while Jonathan promised to return soon with the documentation, the compromise was that he and his people had to wait somewhere public. All the while the two Lieutenants watched them work. When everything was sorted Lieutenant Nole dropped his darkness's spell.

As daylight returned they commenced their little act while Mark and Jonathan headed for the Majors tent.

Mark wasn’t sure people would buy it but it was the best they could do. Flying toward the soldier quarters Jonathan radioed Sam to fill her in. She’d been busy with something, that's why she hadn’t been able to head over just yet but said she’d meet them at the command tent in twenty minutes with some good news.