Chapter 4: The Visitors

**Year 3195 of the Firiyaze calendar, year 2028 of the Gregorian calendar. A federal shuttle of the Condor type had just crossed the Earth's atmosphere and was heading straight for their landing point. The condor is basically the multipurpose transport vehicle of the federation. It allows transporting men and material from one end of a planet to the other. It was so modular that a civilian version was produced in some colonies. Basically, it looks like an airplane with small wings and propellers in the middle. The wings are retractable to allow vertical landing and greater maneuverability, it also has thrusters at the rear and under the device for optimal thrust. Thus the aircraft landed in a forest in the middle of a snowy area. The place looked like a pine forest, and there was some fog as well. As the rear hatch opened and the snow blew, the group of six inside each grabbed their sleeping bags and put on their gas masks. They then descended from the craft, Elisha was a bit nervous and excited at the same time. It was the first time she was going to a world different from her home planet. When their boots finally touched the ground of Amadori, a silhouette appeared right in front of them, a black man with a shaved head and a neatly trimmed square beard. He slowly approached the group, who was on their guard because he was not wearing a mask like them**.

-Night sky?

-Veiled waterfall. I am the 1st class agent of the FOS sent here to investigate. Francis Da... No, you must know me by the name of Bale Arctog.

**The leader took a few steps forward**.

-Major Gaines, leader of the Scarvenger strike team from Cipher.

-Gaines you say... Like...

**The two men exchanged amused smiles and then exchanged a strong handshake**.

-You sonofabitch. **Said Arctog**.

-Good to see you too, Bale.

-Not Bale, here it's Francis Damon. I have my cover, and I'm fond of it, okay?

-Oh, a pro.

**Another team member approached**.

-If you're done, maybe we could get a move on, huh? On a world with 2 billion lives, I'd be surprised if someone didn't stumble upon our condor.

-No risk, the place is deserted. Also, you can take off your masks, the air is breathable here.

-Are you sure?

-Look at me? Do I look like a diver to you?

-He's not wrong, Major. **Said Stowe, removing his mask**. The air quality isn't that bad.

**Everyone took off their mask, and their faces could be seen. Gael was an adult man approaching his forties; he had dimples in his cheeks, a bit like the man to his right. But their hairstyles differed; while Gaines had neatly combed brown hair, Gael's was brown but completely messy**.

-Gael, check the temperature.

**He looked at his watch**.

-It's minus 45°. It's okay; you can take off your coats.

-Hey, don't do that.

-Why? **Asked Gael**. This temperature doesn't affect us.

-I know, I'm not dumb, but you're in an area that's supposed to be very cold, get it? You'd look suspicious if you walked around lightly dressed.

**He looked at him skeptically but put his coat back on**.

-Ok.

-Yeah nice to see you too, Gael.

-Meh, it's not like you've been lazing around for 10 years.

-This is Cipher 1 to Caloon 2.6, we have established contact with our case officer; the situation here is stable; you can take off. **Explained Gaines**.

-Copy that, we're going into stealth mode 4. Cipher 1, good luck.

**Their aircraft took off, lifting a lot of snow around, then suddenly disappeared into the air**.

-Well, now we're left to our own devices.**Said another team member**.

-Any regrets, Warner? **Asked Gaines sarcastically**.

-Not yet, sir, but they'll come.

-Well, let me guide you to the hideout.

-Before that, can you tell me where we landed? We're everywhere except in a desert region.

-Oh yeah, right. Friends, welcome to Hokkaido in Northern Japan.

-JAPAN? **They said, surprised**.

**Francis guided them to a trail where he had parked a state-of-the-art pickup. Seeing it, they felt a sense of déjà vu**.

-Local Rovers look pretty handy to me. **Said Gaines**.

-It's not a Rover; it's a 4x4, and it's a civilian vehicle. Mine runs on electricity. This planet is polluted enough as it is.

**They took their seats inside the vehicle, Gaines in the front, Gael and the girls in the back seats, while Warner and Stowe sat in the back. The vehicle started with minimal noise and began the mountain trail**.

-When I got here, I was nobody; it was quite complicated, but I took my time and step by step, I managed to integrate into this world.

-Recon work is not easy. **Said Gael**.

-Nope, but I'm a patient man. I've gathered a lot of information about this world, and even now, I keep learning every day. I don't think there's anyone more qualified than me to guide you on Amadori. What to do and what not to do, restricted areas, etc.

-Well i don't think we'll need your help here. *Said Gael*.

-By the way, while we're at it, it's not called Amadori anymore but Earth, okay?

-Got it. **Said Elisha with an excited smile**.

-There's nothing to be amazed at. **Told the girl next to her**.

-Don't you find it exciting, Nikto?

-It's just one more world; they're just slightly more numerous than the average.

-Nikto is right, nothing to fuss about.

Especially when they name the planet after the ground they walk on. **Added Gael**.

-According to these guys Logic Collins could have been earth too. **Add Stowe*

**The vehicle finally arrived at a chalet on the edge of the mountain. From a distance, it looked like a group of friends returning from a hike. There were two chalets side by side, and they entered the first one. Damon had them settle in the living room**.

-Finally, we can take off these ridiculous coats. **Said Gael**.

-I think they're cool. They have real fur on them. **Said Stowe**.

**They put down their bags and began to take out most of their equipment**.

-You can settle in here. I'm in the chalet next door.

-And why is that? **Asked Gaines, curious**.

-It's personal. That's all I can offer you in terms of a high-tech home. There's no AI, but there's heating, everything runs on electricity. A flat-screen TV for the news, manual control, a fridge with food, but most importantly.

**He showed them the small white box in a corner of the house**.

-Optical fiber.

-They have an open connection network?

**Asked Stowe, surprised**.

-They call it the internet. **Explained Elisha**. It's not as vast as the federation's, but the information is condensed internally, with few restrictions. It ranges from shocking content to explicit sexual material.

**Everyone looked at her in complete surprise, Arctog first**.

-Okay... I see the lady has studied her lessons. But it's basically like the RCL. You can shop, research the pedia, watch movies, read manga, etc.

-It's the ultimate tool. **Said Nikto**.

-You have no idea how underused it is.

**Gael approached the box to examine it**.

-I take back what I said earlier; your research must have been super easy with a tool like this. **Gael Said, looking at the box**. No hologram comes out of it... Where's the holographic projector? And the liquid charger. They still use cables here?

**Francis let out an exhausted sigh**.

-I have a feeling this is going to be terribly hard.

-I don't want to be a party pooper. **Said Warner, raising his hand**. But don't we have a mission planned? Ok, we have a place to crash, but we'll also need an operational command center, hideouts, weapon caches, money, equipment. And most importantly, where are the blasters?

-He's not wrong. **Said Nikto**. If we're going to fight, we need weapons; I don't understand why we weren't allowed to bring our blasters.

**Arctog let out a small amused laugh, and Warner stared at him angrily**.

-Sorry, buddy, but I don't have any weapons for you.

-No matter, I brought some extra. **He said**.

**He spilled a set of energy pistols and some grenades on the table**.

-Gaines, can you explain this ?

-I suppose there's no harm in being armed in case of danger. In the worst-case scenario, a condor will come and deliver equipment to us. **Said Gaines impassively**.

-No, no, no. Put that away before someone gets hurt.

**Suddenly they heard footsteps and went on guard**.

-Honey... Is that you? I saw the light on; are you back?

**It was Chanel who entered the room and suddenly surprised their little reunion. She wore blue jeans and gray high-heeled boots. She also wore a yellow fur turtleneck sweater and a necklace around her neck; she had also cut her hair to make it shorter**.

-Contact. **Yelled Warner**.

**He raised his energy pistol, pointing it in her direction, but suddenly Francis stepped in and lowered the gun, the laser shot fired, making a hole in the floor**.

-Damn it, why did you stop me? She saw our faces; we have to eliminate her. **He yelled**.

-Are you completely insane? **He screamed, snatching his weapon away**. I said Zero blasters for a reason. And do you think she understands anything about the Firiyaze language?

**He looked at him a bit embarrassed; his reasoning made sense**.

-Honey... Are these the friends you told me about? **She asked**.

-Who is this woman, Arc? **Asked Gaines, frowning**.

-She's my wife. I'm married.

**He showed the ring on his finger**.

-You're, married? **He asked, surprised**.

-And do you want us to congratulate you? **Said Gael, also shocked**.

-All of you, get the equipment out. Bale, come with me; I need to talk to you.

**He then headed for the door, Francis kissed his wife's forehead and looked at the others with a threatening look**.

-You better behave, or I'll make a scene.

**Outside, in a much quieter place**.

-You've completely lost it; it was nowhere in your report that you had a wife. Do you want to get killed? **Said Gaines, clearly angry**.

-I know, I know. But she's okay, and a lot has happened.

-I can confirm a lot has happened. **Said a voice in his pocket**.

-What's that? **Asked Gaines**.

**Arctog took out his smartphone and showed it to his friend. On it was an icon of a humanoid insect moving on the screen**.

-I'm Herstal V93. Nice to meet you, Major Gaines from the interstellar strategic defense complex.

-Call him Earl; he likes it.

-Ok, Earl, nice to meet you. I thought there were no more autonomous AIs in production.

-I have mine; you're on your own.

-You're supposed to be our case officer, remember? Liaison agent. But never mind, what happened here? You've been on this planet for 10 years.

-It's my fault. **Said Earl**. In a moment of trust, I lowered my shields and visual reflectors. Agent Arctog's wife found me, so he was forced to spill everything.

-Everything as in?

-She knows everything, Gin. Me, my mission, the federation, everything.

**Gaines sighed and then slowly slid his hand into his inner pocket, but Bale intercepted it by grabbing his wrist**.

-Wait, Gin, I can explain everything.

-How long has she known?

-For about 8 years. **He replied promptly**. And she hasn't snitched on me; she understands my motivations, she understands the mission, and she's been a great help.

-Indeed, 8 years is a long time to denounce someone. Who else knows?

-Just her and me.

**Gaines looked at him perplexed, but for now, he was going to stick to his version of events. The protocol requires that anyone who discovers his mission be killed, but in Bale's case, it seemed he had turned this weakness into a strength. So, Gaines put his weapon away**.

-I'll be kind and pretend nothing happened. Anything else you're hiding from me?

-I lied a bit in some lines of my report; I'd like to talk to you about it before the briefing.

-Lied? About what specifically?

-Well...

**After half an hour of discussion, they finally returned to the chalet. However, once inside, the atmosphere was strangely more relaxed, especially since there was a new face. Sullivan was running around the house chasing a small kid, a young metis boy with curly hair who was running everywhere**.

-Give me back my notebook, little brat.

-Come and get it if you want it.

**And then he started running around the room again. Gaines slowly turned his head toward Bale, who looked a bit sweaty**.

-The kid just spoke Firiyaze.

-He did ? You know, there are 5,000 dialects on this planet. You must have been mistaken.

-He spoke Firiyaze. **Insisted Gaines**.

-He spoke Firiyaze. **Said Stowe, stoically**.

-He spoke Firiyaze. **Added Nikto**.

-And fluently at that. **Added Gael, who was taking apart the television**.

**Gaines's hand slowly reached into his inner pocket, but Bale grabbed his wrist**.

-Come on, Gin, I can explain everything.

**End of the chapter**