“The I division head will meet with our group for the mutants. Make sure to show utmost respect.” Enzo ordered.

The team ran for nearly an hour, Callan and the rest were already heavily tired. Fending off the occasional assault from mutants. Above them though, they were relieved that the storm had weakened.

Callan couldn’t stop thinking of what he had witnessed earlier, how sudden it all was. The fighting, the new mutant, the death.

In the distance, they were relieved to see a glimpse of the city’s light. With the weaker rainfall, they quickened their pace.

The E operatives dragged the nets along, pulling clumps of mud with them. Much of the team was either injured or killed.

The mysterious woman and I operatives were busy tinkering with their interfaces, Callan was curious, but preferred to focus on getting home. And maybe rest for a bit, away from this place.

He could see the level of damage the journey had brought them. Their swords practically colored red with blood, clothing tattered and torn, and the faces of the operatives were of sadness or indifference.

Another hour had passed, and the dry ground and bright light of the city was just a few steps away. Callan felt a brief moment of joy upon realizing it.

Soon, the group finally reached the light, away from what they had witnessed. On their way to the gate, they stopped at the light anchor fort.

Five people stood, wearing similar clothing to the I operatives. One though stood out to Callan. With a thicker dark robe that reached to her boots barely covering thick kevlar body armor beneath, and rows of the same interfaces hovering above her. A portion of her face was covered by an eyepatch.

On her waist though was a distinct gun, resembling a revolver with a long barrel. A belt was connected to the part the cylinder should be in, going to her back. Holstered next to it was an engraved longsword, fitted with advanced components giving a light blue glow to the handle and parts of the blade.

Immediately the group saluted, Callan joining briefly after.

The woman slowly approached them, looking at Enzo and the E operatives specifically.

“So these mutants really are true.” The woman spoke in a slow and deep but emotionless tone. Her voice alone brought fear to Callan, still raising his hand high to salute.

“Yes, Leader Irene.” The woman looked at one of the screens above, her long dark hair swayed around.

“Your arrival was expected to be twenty minutes ago. A rather grave delay…” She spoke, now showing slight bitterness in her voice.

“Apologies Leader Irene. We have experienced a few…Problems along the way, along with a few casualties.” Enzo responded. She took a brief glance at the injured and tired team.

“I can see that…” Her eyes slowly moved to the E operatives again.

“You are fortunate that this delay did not hinder any further plans to our operations. You may return to your tower, the E division units and our own subordinates though…Will follow us.” Without another word, she motioned for both division operatives to start following her, as they began walking away from the fort.

Enzo let out a deep sigh and ordered everyone to stop saluting.

“We will return to the tower, make sure to eat or get treatment for any wound you have. The H operatives will provide any care necessary.”

Hearing H was enough for Callan to start remembering the woman that saved him, Alexia. He couldn’t rid his mind of the thought.

Soon, the team went back to their main destination, the gate. Along the way, the mood of the team seemed to have lit up, feeling the warm but humid embrace of the city’s light and finally out of the far out place in the darkness. The formation they once had, was soon disbanded, with teams walking with each other instead.

“Well, that was something…” Oliver muttered.

“Yup, barely made it out alive.” Clara responded, despite her happy attitude, Callan could sense the hint of shock and sadness.

“Well, how was your first ever operation Callan?” She asked, and it took a few seconds to respond.

“Exhilarating, I guess?” He managed to make up some kind of reply.

“You’ll get used to it soon, don’t worry. On the bright side, our team managed to survive intact.” Clara tried to reassure him.

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“Though we did lose many of the other operatives…” Oliver interjected.

“They’ll probably find replacements for them quickly.” Marco soon joined the conversation, his responde shocked Callan, coupled with the stoic tone he had. But he didn’t want to question it for a second.

The gate began to open as the teams neared it, slowly grinding open to the cold and sterile inside.

Once everyone was in, the gate shut behind them.

H operatives began tending to the wounded, using their magic and assortment of syringes or tools they had in their bags.

Members of Callan’s team had begun writing their reports, only bearing light wounds.

The H operatives ran checks with their tablets, quickly patching up any wound found, quickly exhausting their energy and emptying their pouches of medicine.

Callan started jotting down what he could on the paper, forgetting how many he had killed. From the amount of kills to that odd mutant they found before having to retreat.

His mind wandered around, scrounging up what he could remember to note down to the paper.

After a while, he finished writing on the paper. Hannah waited in front of them, taking the completed reports and adding them to her ever growing clipboard.

Now finished with the final task of the day, he leaned back on the metal wall, letting out a deep relieved sigh.

“Overwhelmed huh?” Clara leaned next to him, crossing both her arms while turning her head to him.

“Yeah…”

“That’s understandable. Never seen a recruit come out of their first mission calm.” She explained.

“So this is really how it normally goes for missions outside the light?” Callan asked. Clara looked at him, worried.

“Yeah, but casualties like this are worse than normal. Typically one to three deaths and a dozen or so injuries. Best you can do is fight faster and harder, or get an injury to the arm rather than the head.” She placed her hand on Callan’s shoulder.

“But don’t worry, we're A division. We won't end up as one of the corpses anytime soon.”

“What about the rest though?”

“As the Arbitrators of the team, one of the unspoken rules is to protect the unit, other than lead or observe them. Remember that. We lost a few today, but next time, make sure you don’t lose anyone else.” She explained.

Once she finished talking, Enzo walked in front of the group.

“Resting period is over, we’ll move to the mess hall of the tower for food or drink.” He announced to the entire room.

“Maybe some kebabs or juice can take your mind off things for now.” Clara wrapped her arm around Callan’s back, bringing him with the team to the elevator.

Callan thought about her words, the other operatives, and the civilians in that district…He shook his head, clearing his head.

The doors opened to a large cafeteria, bustling with operatives walking around in a hasty manner.

The smell of fried food filled their nostrils.

Clara immediately jumped out the elevator, trying to find the source of the smell.

“The farm districts had a good harvest and offered some more to the military divisions. So the chefs made lesser known food.” Enzo explained.

The rest of the teams exited the elevator, the cafeteria was filled with dozens of conversations of operatives.

It didn’t take long for them to find the counter. Behind the window of the counter were stacks of kebabs stacked neatly on top of one another.

“A once in a lifetime meal!” Clara went ahead of the team, picking up a few kebab sticks to show in front of the team.

“Don’t be so dramatic, we get these every month or so.” Oliver replied.

No longer able to contain her excitement, she bit into one of the kebabs.

“Here, have one. Consider that as a treat for a successful mission!” She handed one of the kebab sticks to Callan.

He looked at his leader, unsure whether he should eat it or not.

“Dig in, we're here to eat after all.” She chuckled.

Callan bit into the stick, for a moment he felt a sense of joy, causing him to bite more into the kebab.

Soon, the rest of the team followed, devouring the kebabs while standing around.

Once he finished, Callan felt calmer. But his mind was still covered in thoughts of that mission. Unlike the fort, he witnessed them die directly in front of him. Seeing Alexia’s face turned pale and dragged into the darkness, never to be seen again.

It only reminded him of the breach, the district, and his fellow teammates before all of this.

He quickly remembered what Clara had said earlier.

‘Make sure you don’t lose anyone else.’

After eating, Enzo began to speak.

“Currently, there is no other mission to be done, you may roam around the facility if you wish. Since the S division has no operations as well, we may occupy the briefing room as temporary quarters.”