Amira rose to her feet and stepped towards the podium, her boots clicking softly against the cented floor. The room fell silent as every gaze locked onto her, she paused for a mont while scanning the room to ensuring she held their attention.
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," she began with her voice clear and steady, as it sounded across the room. "I know you’ve been through a lot, and you deserve answers."
A ripple of murmurs swept through the crowd but quickly quieted.
Amira continued. "You’re all aware of the spiritual energy surge that hit us two days ago and you’ve must know few things happened because of it. Communication disruption is one such things and now the whole wireless networks down with connection to our satellites."
Her gaze swept the room, holding their attention. "Not only that it also effected few of electronic systems which short circuited due to not isolated from sudden surge of external energy, simply because they weren’t designed to withstand sothing so...unexpected."
"For so of you, this may seem like the worst-case scenario." Letting her words sink, as she looked at everyone. "But you’re wrong."
The room fell into a deeper silence. The weight of her statent wrapped around them like a noose.
"The real worst-case scenario is already happening," Amira said, her voice a little lower and each word sounded harsh. "So of you... maybe even soone sitting beside you, have awakened abilities you never asked for, never trained for. And while it may seem like a blessing, I promise you—it’s only one bad decision away from becoming chaos."
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she waited, to see if anyone has anything to add. "It’s not just us—the surge wasn’t selective, it hit the entire planet. Animals, plants—everything which are more attuned to nature than we are—they’ve mutated, and they’re not just surviving, they’re thriving and if you haven’t encountered a mutated creature yet… consider yourselves lucky."
Many among them shifted uncomfortably in their seats, exchanging uneasy glances. While gan, who is seated near the back of platform folded her arms tightly across her chest.
Her expression remained composed, but the slight twitch of her fingers gave her away—she’d faced a mutated beast before and knew the danger they posed but soon Amira’s next words about the exponential rise in their numbers made her blood run cold.
But Amira pressed on with her voice like iron. "In the broadcast, it has warned us about the wave of mutated beasts and make no mistake—they’re coming and soon, they’ll pour out from the forests and swarm the roads we used to drive freely and will claim every inch of land they can if we’re not prepared."
The collective realization that the situation was significantly worse than they had anticipated was almost audible as the crowd inhaled gasps.
Those words caused gan’s calm facade to slip; her mind raced with questions she didn’t dare voice and before the silence could stretch too long, Amira delivered the final blow.
"And for your information..." Her tone sharpened, slicing through the room. "The Federation has decided that their priority is the central province as they’ve barricaded its borders completely with military forces. They’re not sending help to any other province, so now we’ve been left to fend for ourselves."
The response was imdiate; the room was filled with startled gasps, murmured curses, and disbelieving whispers as so soldiers stiffened in their seats with their faces paling as if they had taken a physical blow.
A young soldier near the front stood up, his voice trembling with anger. "My brother... he’s in the central province. Are you saying... he’s trapped?"
Amira understood his worries and said in sympathetic tone. "Yes, he is for now."
The room teetered on the edge of panic. gan shifted in her seat as though preparing to stand, but Amira raised a hand—a silent command—and the room stilled once more.
She then said. "Now you are aware of federation priorities, then the responsibility of other province will completely fall on the hands of the military stationed there and the provincial governor."
So soldiers murmured quietly among themselves, their eyes reflecting worry, while others sat stone-faced, absorbing the gravity of what Amira had just said. The ntion of the corrupt governor—known for his greed and ruthlessness—had struck a raw nerve. Several people clenched their fists, and a few won glanced nervously at each other.
Amira stepped forward again while raising her hand to quiet the whispers.
"I know how you feel so will not sugarcoat it as we all know who the governor of this province is and what he’s capable of." she began with her tone steady but tinged with sympathy. "With the Federation abandoning, there’s nothing holding him back so he will soon hoard supplies while securing his own interest, and protect only the cities with walls—while the towns and villages without protection will be left to fend for themselves."
Heavy silence followed as the truth was brutal, but everyone knew it. Amira’s gaze swept the room, lingering on the worried faces before she continued.
"But that’s why we’re here." Her voice grew stronger. "My team didn’t co all the way here just to deliver so supplies."
The murmurs faded, replaced by expectant silence. So people exchanged confused glances, wondering what she ant. A few of them were already preparing for the worst, their minds running wild with possibilities but Amira’s next words cleared the air. "I won’t hide anything from you all."
"I was a Major General, but not of the regular military as I was part of a covert unit known as Phoenix—a special force that answered directly to the Chancellor and not the Federation Council." She said after a mont.
Letting the weight of her words settle. "When the Federation made their decision to abandon the outer provinces, we chose to disobey and we ca here to find a base from where we can operate and save as many people as possible."
The room exploded with murmurs, so soldiers leaned forward with their eyes wide from disbelief, while others whispered furiously among themselves.
Because even the fresh recruits had heard whispers about the Phoenix Unit—a shadow force that operated in the dark, feared by corrupt officials and criminals alike, stories of their covert missions were told like legends in the barracks, but no one ever expected to et them face-to-face.
Reviews
All reviews (0)