Weak White Sheep in a Fence

Chapter 3: The General Meeting

[District C, Southern Region]

It was night, but the entire Hunter Force, along with Novu Babel and the government, were still not finished cleaning up District C.

There was no light coming from any of the structures. Only the lights from the aircrafts targeting the ruins, together with many Hunters and the government team wearing quarantine suits, made the place busy.

They were busy finding human remains.

A large ruined area that spanned the size of four large buildings was covered by a cube-shaped hologram barrier with words 'DANGER: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. DO NOT ENTER.' displayed. It was transitioning counter-clockwise as if circling the entire cube.

Inside the cube itself, a massive rock was noticeable. It was hairy, and it was moving.

***

[Hunter's Headquarters, Metropolis]

A man in his late 20’s wearing a formal Hunter uniform, was storming with haste down the corridor together with his two men behind him. His black-green hair, combed to the side, featured the proper shape and angle of his ear and jawline on the other side of his face.

The crest on his chest had no crown on it, but the different features of his epaulette made him stand out differently than normal Hunters.

As soon as he got into the room, many were already seated in their chairs surrounding the long table. It was clear they were just waiting for his arrival.

“I apologize for my late arrival,” he said before everyone. He stood tall with a chiseled look and a presence so strong that defined his title. He didn’t seem unfazed despite being late to come.

“General.” Everyone stood, giving their salute as the man went to the front.

This man was General Curys Velen, an Alpha, and the eldest of the Velen siblings who took the second highest position in the army, the role of the only Hunter General within his early age. He’s a man already in his marriageable age, yet duty is still his utmost priority above else.

After surveying the entire room, a certain man caught his sight from the right side.

“Executive Officer Kael,” he spoke, his gaze narrowed to the brown-haired man whose smiles never falter, the only man with a crown in his crest in the room.

Curys’s eyes already spoke what he wanted to ask, but he still asked, “Where’s your Commander?”

Although Apex is an independent division not under his authority, this meeting is a general meeting in the entire Hunter Force. Apex’s leader should have been the one to come considering this meeting being especially urgent.

“He ordered me to be represent our division,” Kael answered simply. “Our leader said he’s feeling not well.”

A part of Curys was worried not about the Apex leader’s health, but the possibility of getting infected, possibly posing a threat of Apex not having a leader later. Axel is a strong man, but he was the one at the forefront of the incident earlier.

“Don’t worry. I’m just guessing that he’s in rut.”

“…” Everyone fell silent when Kael added to his answer.

After all this time, why now?

Curys’s frown was visible thinking that the situation seemed a bit off.

“Don't waste any more time.”

Everyone heard a voice from the far end of the table, opposite Curys’s side. A hologram of a man was shown from the chair with only the upper half of his body appearing. Despite his age, the man’s youthful features were still as handsome as he was.

“Marshal.” Everyone saluted, including Curys, the Marshal’s son and pride.

After he appeared using his hologram, everyone began their discussion.

“The aim of this meeting is to revise the previous schedule of missions since the current incident has changed our entire course,” Curys stood before everyone, even before his father’s hologram who’s facing directly at him.

“Anyone who could report the current situation at the Southern Region?” he asked.

A woman stood as she raised her hand, about to deliver the report she had concluded. “The concerning the object that landed on District C at the South, the researchers who took charge of studying it categorized it as an ‘egg’ for they believed there’s a life in that object based on the observed movements from it…”

While she was talking, a hologram appeared from the center of the table where a 3D video of the 'egg' could be seen, currently surrounded by a cube-shaped barrier. It noticeably vibrated a little.

“… but they still can't determine what kind of creature is inside. The egg has a hairy outer surface and its shell is harder than a diamond-forged alloy. They believe they won't be able to determine what's inside the egg unless it doesn't break on its own.”

The hologram changed and showed a live 3D view of the entire area where the massive destruction occurred. It looked like everyone was seeing a small model of a land on a long table, although it’s ruined.

“District C is currently under isolation using a quantum-phased containment field. Those who could not escape but were far from the incident were locked in the district and held in an oxygen provided facility…” the woman continued.

District C zoomed out from the displayed hologram to show the massive barrier surrounding it. This was a barrier where only air cannot pass through to prevent possible airborne diseases to spread. There was an entrance and exit passages where all those who are wearing quarantine suits are disinfected by decontamination shower.

“Currently, the Novu Babel took the initiative to bring their men in to study the egg, but they asked for our cooperation to handle the entire corpse search.”

A man raised his hand. “How about the government?” he asked. “Aren't they going to do anything about this?”

Someone else replied, “We can’t risk untrained individuals to follow strict protocols once inside the barrier.”

“We could ask for help from their men or even civilians for assistance.”

“We can. They could undergo some training procedures, but it would take several weeks or months.”

The debate in the meeting room seemed to have tensed up. Kael, seeing the whole situation favoring the 'need no help' side, was somewhat frustrated by everything happening. He just raised his voice, louder than those before him.

“Come on. We all know many of the residents in District C also want to find the remains of their loved ones. All the residents who managed to escape the district were given to the government. They said they'll handle the housing and residential concerns, but I doubt the residents will be accepted in any residential areas in this entire land.”

Everyone fell silent when he spoke.

“The government always has a concern for food shortage and under the highest order, anyone who is sixteen and above must have a job if they don’t aim to study or become a Hunter. I believe the residents would end up becoming the 'abandoned' citizens of New Aetherra.”

Kael noticed Curys staring at him but he still he continued talking, "Despite there being no update yet regarding the possible infection caused by that egg—and I believe it did not bring any—discrimination will still happen to those whom the citizens believed were exposed, preventing the victims of this incident from receiving favoritism."

“If it's discovered that the egg carried no disease, we can proceed to press the government to bring some civilians to assist us in the district," Curys then spoke as if he agreed to what Kael said.

One Hunter, a man in his 30’s with a large belly that shaped the size of his uniform raised a hand. He sat opposite from Kael’s side of the table. His face is chubby, quite smug as if covering his lack of genuine concern.

“Since the Hunter Force will handle the corpse search operation, will Apex also be involved?" he started, his eyes giving off a tinge of selfishness. "Because if you look closely, Apex rarely participates in such heavy work. Don't we seem to need more people right now?

Kael stared at the chubby guy who asked with a dignified poise. He had the idea that the man simply wanted to start a fight.

“That's also the question I want to know!” Kael also started. “We’re not very prepared for these kinds of events. Most people here, especially those just sitting comfortably, probably thought it was impossible for an attack from outside to get into the city. Now it has happened.” He sounded like the real Commander of Apex that spoke on behalf of his division.

“How about we changed the system a little? Let's give those who are just sitting here in the HQ the ‘freedom’ to patrol the entire city. Who knows, maybe there are already holes in the wall that we don't know about.” He ended his words with a smile.

It was noticeable that the chubby Hunter's face soured. "From the beginning, this was Novu Babel's job," he argued, beginning to put the blame on others. "It's not our responsibility to handle their miscalculations when building the Skyplate. We're just doing our responsibility as Hunters."

Kael raised his hand again with a smile. “The Apex is not blaming anyone outside this job. We’re just being too loyal to our duty. If you’re a Hunter, then don’t just stay in your den and go out. Make a move. Hunt your prey.”

The chubby man smiled, although what he really felt meant the opposite.

There was a slight silence in the meeting room. It was obvious that most of the listeners were affected. Curys also couldn't do anything but remain silent surveying the entire people in the meeting room.

“Let the Apex do their usual duty,” Marshal Arden ordered from his hologram. “We cannot risk further incidents like this if there is no eye to be the lookout. Once the Novu Babel finds something from the object, we might be able to determine its location.”

“The Apex will obey.” Kael simply nodded with the same usual smile.

Another woman tried to change the subject so as to ease the tension. “How about the injured victims? Are we also responsible for their situation?” Her question hit everyone’s concern.

Kael raised a card from his pocket and placed it on the table, directly pointing the card towards Curys.

“The Apex has already initiated the rescue of all the injured in the entire district since we were the first to arrive." He really turned his head towards the chubby Hunter. "It's a good thing that the other Hunters arrived after a few minutes of our struggles.”

Curys took the card and gave it to one of his men who stood behind him. The man was carrying a datapad. He just inserted the card into one of the slots that fit. The device immediately split into four segments, extending into a bigger shape, forming the edges, the size similar to a thin textbook. A flat hologram appeared in the middle, serving as its screen.

“What’s listed in there are the identities of the injured residents that we don't know what to do with or where to hand them over, so we just listed them to know how many there are. You might know the action to be taken,” Kael continued.

The names of those listed appeared in the screen. One section was marked red with a title 'Critical Care.'

“Oh, by the way. Our commander initiated to use the nearby hospitals to occupy the large number of residents that needed to be taken care of immediately. No hospital complained. The injured were just isolated…”

When the red section was pressed, the names of those listed appeared. There were so many names, but the person holding the datapad did not continue when he read one of the names.

He gave the datapad to his General while pointing at the name. Curys immediately read the name 'Ian Velen' on the list.

His eyes narrowed.

“Ian was there during the incident?!” He immediately asked while looking at Kael. Everyone turned to him, including Marshal Velen as if they heard something interesting.

“We don’t really know why he was there.” Kael shrugged his shoulders. “Only the Commander knows that he was there before we came.”

“Why is he at the ‘Critical Care’?!” Curys expression showed not the kind of concern used to a family, but a worry out of irritation. Something in his mind speaks of the same troublesome bastard that he doesn’t want to see.

“Maybe because they found out he could not wake up anymore.”

“What?!”