“V. Can you lead our people whilst I court with our hosts? Part of our city has fallen into this polluted river our eastern and south eastern sides; as well as the city walls that would have been where this river flows. Work with our elemental specialists, builders and mages to commence rapid repair.” Aleyth thought, tapping into the mind of Lady Vehrane
“Of course. Do not worry Aleyth, I’m working through this with our staff. We will handle the town and bolster the defenses. I’ve borrowed those with relevant skills from various gates already. Best of luck to you, do not worry about the city - I have it under control” Lady V thought back; skilled in telepathy herself the two of them had built an incredible bond.
As the northern gates were unlocked, dispelled and hauled open by the mighty gatekeepers, Aleyth took his first step towards humanity.
“I can work now, my prince” Felix whispered “keep this pace, by the time we reach the half way point I’ll be almost done”
“Very well” Aleyth replied “they have some hideous machines with them… and the air… it feels almost poisoned”
“Yes. The air is thick with toxins; this race has not yet become one with their environment. They fight against it, they do not embrace its magic” Shahine said, her voice filled with sorrow as she strode beside Aleyth with an almost angelic grace.
Dreya tensed “my alert proficiency is tingling sir. We have many, many eyes on us. Thousands. They outnumber us.”
Aleyth calmed the team “do not fear them. I sense no real threat and remember my commands at the gate”
“Yes sir” the team whispered in unison.
Only Braxton and Aleyth were truly composed; their levels higher and experience under stress greater than the vast majority of the residents in their home world Lae’ath.
Aleyth came to a slow stop at the half way point. They didn’t know it, but their northern gate had ended up appearing directly on a main road within London, the A1261. They could see houses, hotels, office blocks and restaurants lining the streets, all abandoned.
Directly in front of them by a local hotel, there was a large military unit. Heavy armoured vehicles blocked the accompanying roads. Helicopters swarmed overhead creating a buzz that echoed across the streets. Fighter jets circled even higher, making trips between Reading and the Canary Wharf Zone for reconnaissance and holding the possible threat of retaliation should it be necessary.
*****
Utilising relayed radio communications, the military unit received word that the gates were opening and to prepare for possible contact. The unit was a mix of the British Army, Reservists, off-duty veterans from the local area and the intelligence service.
The Prime Minister and most of his cabinet were hidden away in off-grid underground bunkers already. The second in command of the British Intelligence Service, which had consolidated its foreign and domestic divisions of MI5 and MI6 in the first reset was being flown over by helicopter to spearhead the first meeting of the races.
As he approached, the scale and sight of the fortress city caused his adrenaline to pump faster and harder than it ever had before. He felt sick. He already knew from the reports it wasn’t just Canary Wharf that had disappeared and been replaced, but the fortress city was much larger. It not only covered Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs but continued to stretch east, reaching the depths of Woolwich. London City Airport, completely vanished. It could not be explained by science and the world was scrambling for answers. He had heard similar stories reaching their service from across Europe. Contact was still being established with the US, but he imagined much of the world was in chaos.
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Alpha-Charlie unit-1 had cleared a landing zone for his arrival, directly in the middle of the main road. Without waiting for the rotating blades to slow too much, Ralph hopped out and slowly jogged over to the awaiting unit.
“Lieutenant, nice to meet you. I’m Ralph Vincent from the Intelligence Service. I’ll be leading contact for us today.” Ralph said as they strode from the landing zone towards the front line. They had established command tents, communications directly to the Service, alongside Army HQ. The Government and Royal House had dictated that the militarised response be led by the Chief of the Defence; across all aspects. We now all reported to Sir Patrick; who was leading efforts from a base within Inverness, Scotland.
“We have snipers across the towers surrounding the gates, three Puma and three Black Hawk helicopters above, Typhoon jets and unmanned drones also on standby, Sir!”
“Very well. Orders are to not initiate a confrontation in any way. Our first port of call is peaceful communication. We have no idea what we’re walking into. We don’t know if they are victims of the same effects we are, or if they are the instigators. At this moment, everything is on the table.” Ralph responded to the Lieutenant organising the efforts locally.
“Sir, Yes Sir!”
The Lieutenant ran towards a table filled with images of the fortress city, being captured by the helicopters above. A map of Greater London had also been printed with areas marked, seemingly at random across the map where outworld creatures had been reported.
Ralph headed towards a smaller, private tent for his final briefing call with the Prime Minister and Chief of Defence. The plan remained the same. Keep it peaceful, hidden camera and microphone in the lapel of his navy suit. Step one was to establish contact, step two was to see if we could communicate and learn from them. We would act accordingly from that point onwards.
“The gates have opened sir, a small unit of 5 seems to be slowly making their way towards us. Telephoto images being printed.” A young soldier said, stood by the communications equipment.
Ralph strode outside, his fine cut suit, shiny black shoes and brilliant white shirt stood snugly on his strong frame. At 6ft 4 he was a relatively tall man that took pride in his fitness and appearance. He would be chaperoned by a small unit of guards from the Special Air Service, Squadron A, who had just arrived from another blockade and were being given their orders.
Taking a pair of binoculars from a nearby table as he went, Ralph muttered “Dear Lord… what have you sent us this day”. With that, he bottled his fear, took a deep breath and went to the small unit of Marines that awaited him, giving his final orders before they made their way to meet their guests.
“Do not engage, our mission is to learn and understand as much as we can about our new guests. Yes, guests - that is what they are, for now. We cannot automatically assume they are our enemy.” Ralph finished, addressing the team. His concealed audio equipment was on an encrypted radio channel that fed its way back to the intelligence service translation and research desk; his earpiece was also hooked up to that team, alongside the Chief of Defence so he could learn of any new information on the fly.
“Let’s begin” Ralph said, as he began a slow walk to his guests, trailed carefully by the four members of SAS Squadron A.
*****
“Here they come” Aleyth braced the group. They had been stood awaiting an approach for around five minutes until they saw movement.
“Awaiting their own guard” Braxton informed the group “They’re carrying strange instruments, holding them in a combative state. We shouldn’t have come out here unarmed Aleyth”
“Do not worry Braxton, only your hulking axe has been left behind. Between Felix’s arcane interventions, Shahine and Dreya’s protections, as well as my own concealed arts, we should be fine. At the very least we make a mighty team of escape artists.”