Assembly - 745 HoursA Chapter by Gabriella EarnestineThe city was buzzing with commotion. After the news of yesterday’s intrusion, the general of our division, General Steven Matthews requested for an immediate assembly to take place the next morning. This request was granted by the government, and all of the divisions were present in Rukon square, the heart of the Northern District. Today, I was going to report the incident to the assembly. The sound of our men marching in perfect formation behind us only made me more nervous than I needed to be. I was walking alongside the general to a tall, cylindrical building at the center of the square. Apparently, he had noticed that I was a bit tense. “You needn’t worry, Captain,” he said, turning his attention towards me, “once they realize what you have to present to them, they will surely hear you out and recognize your efforts.” “Or they will see it all as how incompetent I was at handling a mere intrusion,” I muttered looking away. “You are too hard on yourself Payne,” Matthews sighed, “one day you’re going to break yourself. For now, focus on the task you have at hand. Worry about the assembly’s judgement after you've obtained a response.” “As you say, general.” “You are by far the greatest captain I’ve had serve alongside me. Of course, you are the youngest, and you may seem like nothing more than a reckless nuisance by men with more experience. You’re justified to have concerns in that matter. But I am certain you will prove to be the greatest.” He turned to me with a kind smile and patted me on the back. “Thank you, sir,” I replied. We entered the immense building which surprisingly could fit our entire population on a single floor. One by one, we presented ourselves in uniform to check into attendance. After a few conversations with the members of other divisions, we all reorganized ourselves. An announcement echoed through the floor. “Attention all attendants. This morning’s session will be commencing momentarily. All divisions are asked to please report to their designated seats within the auditorium. Thank you.” The general and I led our division, division twelve, onto a brightly lit square platform. Once we were all standing on it, it separated from the floor and lifted us upwards. I fixed every golden trinket attached to my navy blue uniform, (even though there were only a few), including my epaulettes. Here we go… I took one last look outside through the outer glass pane, which ran the building top to bottom. We reached the twelfth floor and after our swift security check, sat in our respective seats throughout the ring shaped floor. As captain, I sat in the exclusive second seat, while Steven sat in the first seat which was distinct from mine. I took a deep breath in and out as the lights dimmed and the center space was illuminated, letting us know the session has begun. We heard the booming voice of a member of the Government Body speak from above, as it echoed through all of the floors. “We shall now have this 4,530th session of the Northern District commence. We were informed of a recent infiltration and as the informer of this incident and the man who requested that this session take place, we invite the first seat of the twelfth division, General Steven Matthews, to speak on the floor.” Steven stood up, and walked onto an invisible floor that was connected to our section, almost as if we were all in layers. He appeared almost to be walking on air as his cape floated gracefully behind him. I couldn’t believe the day had come when i would finally be doing that. With no cape. But still. “My fellow division members, captains, generals, and the honorable Government Body members. Gentlemen. It has come to my attention that an incident happened within my division, in the member’s cube which, of course, is parallel to my quarters. We feel it is of utmost importance that we inform you of this infiltration. I humbly request that my captain report before this audience, for he was a first hand witness of the events.” There was a short moment of silence before Floor Fifteen responded. “Permission granted. Second seat of the twelfth division, Captain Markus Payne, you may speak on the floor.” Once Steven returned, I stood up and made my way onto the floor. The stage lights blinded me for a moment, but I straightened my posture and began to speak in front of all of these men. “My fellow attendants of the assembly. Indeed an intrusion occurred within my cube. Last night at 2013 hours, a single individual entered our boiler in the basement. The intruder’s objective was to steal our water supply.” Ping. Floor Fifteen addressed the request to speak. “First seat floor seven has a comment.” “Captain, do you suspect that this threat came from the ERA?” Ping. “First seat floor three. You may address the question.” “With all do respect General, if it were ERA, wouldn’t traces of their intrusion be left behind? They are especially known for leaving a pentagon drawn with charcoal on the wall. Captain, was there such a sign left behind?” I adjusted the sword that was in a holster on my right hip. Looking down, I rested my hand on the sword’s handguard and responded the third division’s general. “No sir, there was not. I did take that possibility into account at first, however I do not believe that the ERA would act so reckless as to send a single individual to infiltrate on his own. I strongly believe the threat comes from elsewhere.” Ping. “Second seat Floor Thirteen has a comment.” “Captain, how much of the water supply was stolen?” “An insignificant amount. However, he damaged our pipe works, so our entire water ration was drained. We have no water for the next two weeks.” Chatter began to fill the auditorium. Floor Fifteen addressed the commotion. “Gentlemen, order will be observed!” The side conversations slowly died. I almost leapt out of my skin in shock when Floor Fifteen personally addressed me. “Captain Payne, do you have any evidence that could lead to further investigation?” “As a matter of fact, I do. When I discovered the intruder in the basement, he pulled out a pipe which made the floor overflow with water. Soon after, I made an attempt at shooting him, and I was successful to that extent although he was able to get away.” I reached into a breast pocket in my uniform and pulled out a small container. “This is a sample of the blood stained water that remained. I took it as soon as I saw the water full of it. It contains the individual’s DNA.” I held it above my head and looked upwards towards the top floor. Although I couldn’t see them through the shadows, I could tell the Government Body would take particular interest in this sample. “Excellent work Captain. Here are your instructions: take the blood sample to the lab. Once you have found a match, track down this individual and arrest him. We’re thankful for this report and in return your division will be given another ration of water. You may leave the floor.” I gave a salute and walked back to my seat. Floor Fifteen then addressed the entire assembly. “Instructions for all Divisions: all of you must remain vigilant and alert for any suspicious characters from now on. This threat may or may not correspond to the ERA. Therefore, every member is to be extremely cautious. If any other incident similar to the one we have been notified of today occurs in the future, you are all to report it to us immediately. This session shall now come to a close.” Everyone began to exit the building. I clutched the container firmly in my fist, and rushed outside. As expected, Floor One (which was the lab) was already outside in the square. I squinted to find a certain someone I knew. I finally found him: a tall man with dark brown hair and rectangular glasses in a long white coat. He had to be in his mid thirties. A smile spread on my face as i walked up to him. His name: Doctor Henri Zalaway. “Doctor,” I greeted him. “If it isn’t my Markus! And in uniform! You’ve grown a lot my boy!” he exclaimed, grinning wide. “I haven’t forgotten you one bit father. No matter how many ranks.” Doctor Zalaway treated me like a son. Although he was in charge of making all of the male embryos who would later grow up to be soldiers like me, he said I was the first one he ever created. I personally saw him as my father. I pulled him into a bear hug and we parted, as he took a long look at my face. “Oh boy, I’m getting old. How…?” “Eighteen.” “Eighteen?! And a Captain?! Now that's the reckless kid I remember raising!” he chuckled. “Yea well, I’ve worked my butt off for it.” “I’m sure you have, I’m sure you have…So, I’m assuming you are interested in coming by the lab to find a match to that DNA,” he said pointing at my hand. “Yes,” I replied. “Well then you can leave it with me and I’ll send you the results to your interface later.” “I’m not sure…” “You need to rest,” he insisted, “I wouldn’t want to trap you in the lab during the whole process.” “Can I trust the sample to you?” “No,” he responded with a smirk. I locked my arm around his neck as we laughed. I finally let him go, handed him the sample, and he walked back to the lab. It would take a while until he’d be able to get some results. I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. “Richard,” I greeted him in surprise, “To what do I owe the pleasure?” “Oh I don’t know, maybe a certain Captain made one heck of a presentation.” “Thank you.” “Also…” He paused to see if anyone was around us. My eyebrows arched downwards in curiosity. “I wanted us to meet around lunchtime. Come alone. Another Captain will be joining us. There is a matter of utmost importance we must discuss with you…” “I don’t understand,” I said, “If it’s urgent, why not address the assembly? What is this about?” “I cannot tell you in public like this. I’ll send you coordinates of a location to your space. Once you receive them, start heading out. You have to come before you get the DNA results.” “What?” I pulled back, “Why?” His eyes locked on mine and he didn’t answer my question. I straightened my posture. “Richard, as a fellow Captain and frankly my most treasured mentor, I treat you highly in respect. But I don’t like the way you’re speaking to me. I will not attend unless you give me some information on what is going on here.” He looked away exasperated at my defiance. He finally whispered in my ear. “It’s about the ERA. They weren’t the ones who were behind the intrusion. Right now even they are trying to track down who was the one who entered your cube.” I yanked his arm and walked us over to an alleyway in the square. I pushed my face into his and looked deep into his eyes to make sure he understood my seriousness. I made sure I spoke in a low voice. “Are you telling me that you’ve been exchanging information with the ERA?! You’ve made contact with them?!” “You cannot tell anyone about this Markus.” I pushed him away from me and turned around, full of anger and disbelief. “You’re asking me to keep a secret from my division…” “Markus…” “From my general…” “Markus…” “From the Government Body…” “Markus…” “Do you know who this individual is?” There was a moment of silence. Although I wasn’t positive he knew who the intruder was, he was keeping something significant from me. I was at least aware of that much. Anger flared up within me once more. “ANSWER ME!” My outburst was amplified by alleyways. Soon, I could see General Matthews begin to approach us. “Gentlemen, what seems to be the problem?” he asked us in a commanding voice. Really, it wasn’t a question, more like “You better tell me what the hell is going on right now or I’ll slit your throat.” I wanted to tell him. I really did. But my mind made the decision to deceive my general all on its own and in a matter of seconds. “Nothing sir,” I responded. Richard gave me a glance. I looked down, hoping he would stop being a fool already. “Well if it's nothing,” Matthews stated, “Markus, you’ve got some explaining to do. Leaving your division without notifying me first, and being distracted with a simple conversation when you had strict orders to report to the lab personally, is unacceptable.” “Forgive me sir, I understand that what I did was irresponsible. But I left the sample with my father and I’m waiting patiently for some results.” He gave me a long look. My heart pounded at my chest. Finally, he brushed my disobedience0 off, blinking and looking back towards the center of the square. “We will discuss this later. Captain Samson, I suggest you report to your division as well before I reach your General Radner first.” “Forgive me sir,” Richard stated. I left with Matthews, having been given a fair warning. The thought of meeting Richard at noon, however, kept swirling in my mind. I knew him well. If he had contact with the ERA it must’ve been recent, with the sole intention to figure out the identity of our intruder. It had better been that. “I trust you will tell me what Samson was discussing with you later on…” He caught me by surprise with that statement and I glanced at him, almost letting my jaw drop. I knew it was the responsible thing to do. Then again, how could I tell him? Richard was a close friend and I wanted to believe that although he did something against the law, he did it with the best intention in mind. I looked back down without responding the general. I could feel his eyes beating down on me, a reaction to my silence. “Captain…” I looked back up at him. “Yes, sir.” Liar. Despite my scolding myself I looked ahead, making sure to not show any guilt or remorse on my face. When I returned to the cube, I put on layers of my stealth clothing: A dark cloak with a hood, dark pants, dark boots, and dark gloves. Many would just ignore me: after all I was in uniform and on an important mission. However, I decided to take extreme precaution. If someone carefully analyzed my route, I wouldn't want them to know my identity. My wall made a pinging noise. The coordinates. Was I really going? I thought long and hard for a moment. I shot for the wall and downloaded the coordinates to my interface band. Apparently… I was. © 2015 Gabriella Earnestine |
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Added on July 28, 2015 Last Updated on July 28, 2015 AuthorGabriella EarnestinePAAboutYoung writer who loves to collaborate with friends in writing stories, as well as come up with her own ideas. more..Writing
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