Planning was my forte, and from the moment I first learned about the opportunity to return to the past, I started weaving a web of events and situations that would present me with the best possible outcome.
Time and time again over the years, I’ve had to make adjustments here and there; some of my money-making schemes had failed due to other Returners getting to them before me, but overall, I could wholeheartedly say I was now in a situation where I could do just about anything I wanted.
And we were only in 2008.
From setting up a solid cash flow before the descent, which I would easily convert to Coins when the time came, to strengthening not only myself but my family as well, I laid the groundwork for our survival no matter what occurred on Earth.
Sure, a massive derailment had occurred in 1999, as I hadn’t believed it possible to make such large-scale changes as Draven had; however, adaptation was my second strongest attribute, lagging only a few steps behind my planning.
Yet, even as I stood in the training room, with hundreds of small rocks swirling around my body, the gears in my head were spinning as fast as possible.
Over the last nine years, I have met up with members of each Military Branch and accepted my unofficial status as a Major in the United States Army, as had several Returners, all heroes or Anti-heroes.
Brenden, Xilia under her new hero name, LadyFell, Emilia, and Dad had as well, and after quite a bit of back and forth with the government, we were allowed to keep our identities confidential.
Unfortunately, that was also the reason we were considered UNOFFICIALLY Enlisted, but even that had perks associated with it. So long as we were in our gear and in the presence of several branches, we were respected and got quite a few benefits.
In a sense, it was a lot like the guilds overseas, where in times of emergency, the Rankers would step up and take charge. Mind you, there would be some pushback here and there, but as more and more towers popped up, our presence became increasingly more important to the world’s Order.
Deet Deet, Deet Deet
The soft chirping sound played in every one of the facilities in Gnarnia and was enough to get me to halt my "training," for it could only mean one thing.
Someone from outside was trying to reach me through the Communication Relay, so without further ado, I left the training room and walked over to the command center.
Once there, I tapped a few buttons and brought up the incoming call.
"Go for Nexus." Pulling on my metaphorical mask, I changed the tone of my voice and looked at the picture of General Farshar.
Visit freewebnoveℓ.com for the best novel reading exp𝒆rience.
At the Communications Relay’s current level, video calls weren’t possible. Still, since each device that could connect to it was registered with Gnarnia’s security protocols, adding something as simple as a picture wasn’t too difficult; think of it as a form of caller ID, only instead of a number, it was a picture of the person calling which would light up when they connected.
"Major Nexus, I wish I could say this was a courtesy call, but…."
"I saw the news, general; no need to worry. I’ve already contacted most of the members of Ves-Squad; based on the signs I observed, we have around 3 hours until the first Players step out of the Tower, at which point my whole squad will be on-site. Are the preparations on your end complete?" I asked while walking over to the communications relay, picking up an over-the-ear hands-free headset and putting it on.
Having designed the look of the device, I went with something similar to a normal Bluetooth earpiece and walked toward my workshop.
"Yes, the blockade has been set up as you designed, and thousands of liaisons have been stationed within a mile of each Exit Gate. I know it’s a little late to ask, but are you sure this is going to work? I mean, if everything you’ve told me about the Tower is true, these people will be no different than Post-War Soldiers; some may be fine, but their mental states will be difficult to judge on a surface level." General Farshar stated in his usual uptight tone.
"How many Evolver Squadrons do we have participating?" sitting down at my workbench, I took out my latest project and began applying the finishing touches.
"At present, all eight other squads have arrived and been dispatched, but only your Ves-Squad is missing...well, I say that, but that annoying Kid Sonnasitc and your Squad Healer Piniki are both on site."
"That’s fine. I will contact them after getting off the call; JaxRett, Marek, MsCastle, and LadyFell are all on standby, and I am awaiting my go-ahead. How bad was the bureaucratical bullshit this time?"
"Probably as bad as you can imagine. If it weren’t for the President having a sudden "Change of heart,"… which I want to know NOTHING ABOUT, I don’t expect we would have been able to push through any of the legislation we have so far."
"But for the most part, everything is in order, apart from allocating the proper funds for such a task, but I am fairly certain that once the Players show up, that will change." The General confirmed; meanwhile, in the background, I could hear several people barking orders along with helicopters and tanks rolling out.
"That’s the problem with the guys at the top, General; they fear change, and with the emergence of 10000 or more Evolvers like myself appearing, a new world is on the horizon. I hope that you understand this is only the beginning, and depending on how well received our first impression is, it will set the stage for the coming future."
"So long as everything is according to my plan, we should be fine, General, so don’t fret too much. Let us, Evolvers, handle things in the way only we can." Wearing a smirk, I finished up my project, bound it, and unsummoned it before standing up.
"I can’t help but be uneasy by that statement, considering there’s less than a hundred of you guys and over 10000 of them, but then again, you’ve never been wrong before and haven’t given me any reason to doubt you."
"As it should be, see you in two hours, General Farshar."
CLICK