All the members of Team Spectre stood in an office, Leah among them. Anna had told her everything about the team the previous day after she had been accepted into the team, and already she was at her first brief meeting.
Sitting in front of Anna was Director Berkeley on the left, Secretary Campbell on the right, and Five-Star General Arden in the middle. There was an unspoken tension in the room, with the 3 of the most important individuals in the entire country across a table.
"Sergeant Hastings and team, I called you here today with good news." The general spoke.
He was a man around the age of Anna's mother. He had features resembling those of Chris and Charl, but his eyes showed decades of experience and had a calculated look that made him feel all-knowing. Anna was intimated by this man, but when she reminded herself that he had raised both Chris and Charl, she thought he must be a really good man under that cold skin.
"Director Berkeley and the agency have concluded the investigation yesterday, and we have learned much about the situation. But before we get into that, I have to mention that your team has been officially recognized, and the special ops Team, Team Spectre is fully operational." General Arden turned toward Secretary Campbell and handed her the room.
"Hi, as you may have heard from Admiral Howard, I am the Secretary of Defense, Jennifer Campbell, and you guys will be reporting directly to me. I will set up an office in the academy, and Sergeant Hastings will check with me every Monday morning. If any of you ever have any questions, you are welcome to come by." Secretary Campbell spoke in a very serious and professional tone.
"And I am Director Berkeley, the director of the Gladakian Intelligence Agency. I will be providing you with all the intelligence details you'll need. I have updated Sergeant Hastings's ID card to a level 4 clearance in the agency already. That means she will have access to all the records and files below the top-secret ones." The Director sounded a lot more relaxed. Clearly,as he was a much easier person to talk to than the other two.
"With the introductions over, I will now move on to the main topic. Remember, everything that comes out of my mouth will be highly classified, you are not to leak this information to anyone else, understand?" General Arden said firmly.
"Yes, sir." The squad said in unison.
"From our gathered intel, the Derunce Empire has been divided into two factions: the original empire, and the one consisting of radicals and private militias who refer to themselves as the Derunce Freedom Fighters. The empire has been like this ever since the signing of the armistice, and they are now on the verge of a civil war. The empire wants peace, while the freedom fighter strongly opposes peace."
Strongly opposes peace? Anna balled her fish at that thought.
Anna despised those who sought war as an unnecessary means. Because, to her, those who oppose peace are the ones who took her father away from her. Her country didn't desire war, either. Because of its almost endless resources, Gladakia has always been targeted by surrounding countries.
The General continued, "As you might have guessed, the mercenaries came from the radicals. More of these attacks will come, and all-out warfare is just around the corner. Most of the students in the academy will be enlisted upon graduation. Your team will be defending the school against these attacks for now, and when the Freedom Fighters declare war, you will be leading the academy into the frontlines."
"We will not let you down, sir," Anna answered.
"I will also provide you with some information about the upcoming training in the academy. The Navy has decided to select 500 of the academy's finest cadets and put them on GMRS Citadel." General Arden said.
With a capacity for 50 planes and 3000 crew members, GMRS Citadel is the largest aircraft carrier in Gladakia. It's roughly the length of 3 soccer fields and weighs over 75000 metric tons.
"Along with the rest of the crew, the selected students will be stationed near the border of the Derunce Empire. There, you will go through flight and naval training. War is likely to be declared during the time of your station, but with the advanced equipment aboard the Citadel, I doubt there will be any real danger, so I wish the students will also receive some experience in real combat. You can ask Secretary Campbell for more information." The general finished speaking.
It was a really good idea, Anna thought.
She has always wanted to be a part of the Navy since that's where both her parents' backgrounds came from and where her brother went.
"That about wraps up everything I have for you today. Everyone except for Sergeant Hastings and Private Chris Arden is dismissed." General Arden said with a wave.
Theo, Leah, Will, and Charl turned around and walked away towards the door.
"Now, as for you two, I believe Secretary Campbell has something to say." General Arden waited for the door to close and leaned back into his chair.
"Yes, this is unrelated to the training, however. Anna, your mother will hold a dinner party tonight to celebrate your newly founded leadership in the 'disciplinary committee." Secretary Campbell said, referring to Anna by her first name.
Anna thought it was odd. She knew that her mother wasn't the type to willingly host social events.
"Aunty Jenny, are you perhaps the one who suggested this?" Anna unintentionally teased the Secretary.
"Wha-." Secretary Campbell's face turned red a little, just barely enough to notice, "Nonsense."
"You are a bad liar as always, Jennifer." Director Berkeley said with a smile.
"Nobody asked you, Michael." Secretary Campbell snapped back.
They seem to get along well, Anna noticed
She remembered Theo telling her that his parents were divorced, so there might be a chance she could get him as a little cousin. Anna smiled at that thought.
"Anyways, Chris, your family is invited. I have already told your father, but I wanted to ask you personally, do you want to attend?" Secretary Campbell asked.
Chris looked at his father, who nodded at him, and then he turned back to the Secretary.
"Sure." He said.
"What about Theo? Will he be coming as well?" Anna asked.
"Unfortunately, no. I still have a lot of post-investigation work to do, and Theo will be helping me out." Director Berkeley said.
"Aww." Anna was visibly disappointed.
"That will be all that we need you two for. You are dismissed."
"Anna, what were you talking about in there?" Theo asked in Anna's tight embrace, "Also, please let go."
"It's a secret, Theo." Anna completely ignored Theo's request.
"Well, now that our team has become official, should we go somewhere to celebrate?" Will asked.
"Yeah! Let's go to the pub!" Anna exclaimed.
"We can't drink, yet," Chris said.
"But soldiers go to pubs, right?" Anna was a little disappointed.
"How about the cafe from yesterday? I didn't have much since we were all talking." Charl suggested.
"But a pub would be nice, too…" Anna wasn't willing to give up.
"The cafe sounds good," Chris said, and everybody other than Anna agreed.
The group started heading towards the cafe in front of the Academy, dragging the reluctant Anna, who was still hung up on the pub, along with them.
"Good morning, everyone." Emma the waitress greeted them as they opened the door to the cafe.
"Good morning," Anna said while looking around.
It was quite early in the day, so there were a lot of people in the cafe.
"Can we have somewhere quiet? Emma." Anna asked.
"Of course, Ms.Hastings. We have some private rooms available in the back, would you like me to lead you there?" Emma offered.
"Yes, please."
Anna and her friends followed the waitress through the cafe into the back. They stopped at a door that Emma opened and let them in. It was a big, well-lit room. There was a round table in the center. The aesthetic was very calming, fitting for a cafe. The squad got in their seats around the table.
After a round of orders, the waitress left the room to get everybody's orders, except for Will and Leah, who both said water was fine.
"So, everyone. The special operations Team Spectre has been officially designated!" Anna spoke up in a voice that she tried her best to suppress.
"Yeah!" The squad cheered.
They weren't as overzealous as Anna had been, since an official designation didn't really mean much before they actually got deployed, but everyone was excited nonetheless.
"Now, I know that we have been through a lot together, but we haven't really given introductions to each other, yet. Some of us already know each other, but I think it's best to get to know everybody." Anna could see her friends nodding in agreement, so she continued, "Let's go around the table and start with Will."
Anna waved her hand at Will, who was sitting next to her.
"Me? Um, sure. Hello everybody. As I am sure most of you already know, my name is William Gordon. I am from a farmer's family, so I am a commoner. Um…" Will paused and thought of things to say, "I am not really good with a gun, so I will take care of the logistics and strategies."
Will sat back down in his seat. He was a little embarrassed. Leah, who was sitting next to him, stood up.
"Nice to meet you, everybody. My name is Leah Bell. I don't know my family as I had never seen them. I haven't previously met anyone here other than Will and Ms.Hastings. I have not received routine training, but I was told that my marksmanship could be of use to the team, so I hope to meet everybody's expectations."
After her toneless introduction, Leah sat down. It was now Theo's turn. He stood up and was clearly a head shorter than everyone else.
"Hello. My name is Theodore Berkeley. My father is the director of the Gladakian Intelligence Agency. Like Will, I don't really know how to use a gun. I specialize in hand-to-hand combat and infiltrations."
Theo sat down. Realizing it was her turn, Charl looked around the room and slowly stood up.
"Greetings, everybody. My name is Charlotte Arden. You can call me Charl. Chris is my brother. Our father is the Five-Star General Arden."
Leah shook a little. This was the first time she heard about it.
"I have spent my time learning everything about medications. I may not be of much use on the field, but you can rely on me to treat your wounds."
Charl bobbed a curtsy and sat down. Chris beside her stood up at a perfectly synchronized pace as his sister.
"Hi. My name is Christopher Arden. Like my sister said, our father is the General. I don't particularly specialize in anything, but I am most confident in my abilities in close-quarter combat and breaching operations."
Chris sat down. Everybody has done their introductions except for Anna.
"Thank you, everyone. I am sure we now know each other much better than before. I guess it's my turn now. My name is Anna Hastings. My father is a major, my mother is the owner of Hastings Firearms. I will be the commander of this team. Most of the time, I will join Chris in the assault, but I am also competent in some other areas."
Anna finished with her introduction and sat down.
"Anna, if I am not mistaken, you have an older brother, too, right?" Charl asked.
"Yes!" Anna got excited at the mention of her brother. "He is currently training in the Air Force."
Anna always had a slight brother complex. However, she is not to blame. Her brother spoiled her excessively since she was young, especially after their father was enlisted. Anna had not seen him in a couple of years. She missed him.
"Really? I always thought you were an only child, Anna." Theo was surprised.
"What? He was the student council vice-president 4 years ago, how do you not know him?"
"I don't even know the current student council president, let alone the vice-president from 4 years ago."
They joked and chatted for a while.
Chris was standing in front of Anna's mansion, which was not that much smaller than his, but it was decorated a lot more simply. Chris walked through the front yard under the clear night sky with Charl beside him. Even as her brother, Chris couldn't help but notice Charl's charm in her viridescent dress.
As they stepped up the stairs leading to the front entrance of the mansion, two butlers standing on either side of the door welcomed them and opened the door. Like the exterior, the interior wasn't decorated with luxury like his house was, as a result, it gave off a cozy vibe.
Chris and Charl were greeted by a maid and led through the mansion toward the ballroom. As the doors to the ballroom were slowly opened by the maid, the inside came into view. Since Chris and Charl were children of the highest-ranking aristocrat, everyone else other than the guest of honor had to be present before them, so there were already a number of people gathered in the ballroom, talking among themselves.
When Chris and Charl strolled into the room, all the other guests' attention immediately shifted to Charl. Captivated by her beauty, chatters and gazes came from the crowd. Chris glanced at Charl beside him, and despite the many times this exact situation had happened, Charl was blushing.
As they walked to join the crowd, Chris looked around the ballroom. It was around the same colossal size as the one in his mansion. At the other side of the room, there was a stage, beside which stood Mrs.Hastings, chatting away with Secretary Campbell and his father, who insisted on coming early. Even though she wasn't dressed as sophisticatedly as his sister, Mrs.Hastings was a couple of steps ahead of the already exceptionally beautiful Charl. That reminded Chris of Anna.
A couple of noble children around their age gathered in front of Chris and Charl. Chris didn't know any of them on a personal level, but he could recognize them from previous parties and the academy. As they clearly had ulterior motives from simply becoming friends, Chris inattentively nodded and smiled at their words. Charl, on the other hand, was acting all bashful from their bombardment of compliments.
Chris knew that Charl was at a marriageable age, but she had never expressed interest toward any boy, as they all usually just flock to her like vultures. None of the boys who were currently trying to woo Charl was any bad-looking, but Charl clearly showed no intention in continuing a conversation with any of them.
At Chris's front, a group of girls was trying to get his attention, to which Chris paid no notice. Similar to the boys, each and every one of these girls could be considered as beauties, but they were not at all comparable to the divineness of Anna. Since Anna rarely participated in any social events, no one has seen her in anything other than uniforms and casual clothes, but that was enough to make Chris think so highly of her. At the thought of Anna, the door to the ballroom had once again opened.
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