It was a warm morning on the first day of May. The chirps of the birds were fusing with the roars of the carts and the pumped-up shopkeepers full of energy. Breakfast was served hot on the streets of Central Maida, Akol's capital and the largest city, known especially for its large financial hub and bustling streets full of restaurants serving varieties of delicacies. Al-Mar, donning the vacation uniform of the SPC was submitting her portfolio to the Office of Registrar for Housing and Domestic Welfare at 43rd Street for the new bungalow she was buying. She was smart and hard-working and this was one of the first things which was listed in her checklist: 'to gift her parents a new home'. Well, this was not the main reason she was here in this bustling 43rd street known especially for government offices on one side and a variety of food stalls and restaurants on the other. As she moved out from the Registrar's office, she looked at her watch. It was 9:30, she had plenty of time to explore the vast riches which was spread in front of her. It doesn't look like it but our Al-Mar is a big foodie and has her guide to the local ingredients and cuisines which she had researched during her expedition missions. Well anyway, Al-Mar went to a nearby stall selling hot Upma, a very popular breakfast dish amongst the people hailing from Indus State, the Southernmost administrative centre of Akol. It is made from Rawa, a form of processed wheat and is mixed with a variety of spices also from Indus. It is served hot with Coconut chutney or Acchar or anything you like and it was Al-Mar's favourite breakfast. Al-Mar belonged to Persia, one of the western administrative centres of Akol and this Upma was rare there. Al-Mar ordered a large plate of Upma with Coconut chutney and curry leaves and dived into it. It was tasty, flavours were bursting with each bite she took. As she was enjoying her favourite breakfast, she took a glance and saw a familiar figure laughing. It was Rai, and he was laughing his pants off. Al-Mar, puzzled, approached Rai with an innocent look and asked what was so funny to which Rai replied: "The way you were hogging down Upma, completely unaware of your surroundings, munching loudly, HAHAHAHAH, it was so funny, HAHAHAHA, don't forget to exercise otherwise you will have to run up and down the Strong Men's hill 15 times, HAHAHAHA". Al-Mar didn't reply. She was used to this useless blabbering from Rai. They had known each other for years and their families were pretty close and they went to the same school and were well aware of each other's secrets. Rai asked for a spoon and took a bite from the plate as they walked across the street. Rai asked whether she had any business here to which she explained. Then they took a tram and went to the Park to enjoy the last few days of their vacation afterwards their normal house duties would return. Till any further orders, Al-Mar will be busy at the Army Hospital while Rai and others will be busy with their duties.
It was hot and it was a very bad idea to go to the park at this hour and in this scorching heat. Both of them agreed which was also rare. Rai suggested that they should have a nice cold Sugarcane Juice. As they were mesmerizing the sweet juice with a hint of spiciness and sourness, Rai got a phone call. It was from the Expeditions Commander's office. He was ordered to meet with his squadron at 5 PM sharp at the Defence secretary's office. Rai explained it to the inquisitive Al-Mar and phoned his other squadmates. Then he dropped Al-Mar to her apartment and then went to his own house to freshen up and prepare for the meeting. Vacations were now officially over, a week before, sighed Rai. It was around 1 PM, "so much time, let's relax". He informed his parents and his sister about the call. The mood dropped suddenly. Even after all these years, it was still difficult for each of them when they heard about a new call from the office. And it was always Rai who lightened up the mood which he also did right now. At 4:15 PM, he received a call from Al-Mar who requested him to pick her up. He called Hades and others to be on time and wait for him in front of the gate. He got dressed and packed his bag, greeted his family, took his keys and went towards his convertible. He picked Al-Mar on his way and they headed towards the Defence Secretary's office. By 4:55, they were standing in front of the gate. Hades arrived a minute late. Rai looked around and observed that there were other squadrons too. At 5'O Clock sharp, the gate was opened and a staff member led the way to the Meeting Hall. The squadrons were greeted by the Secretary and the Expeditions Commander.
Expeditions Commander took the dais and explained why were they called. He said, "Greeting everyone, the Secretary of Defence, the Squad Leaders and my dear warriors. Thank you all for coming in such a short notice. We are well aware that we have called you a week before the end of your precious yearly vacation, but as you can understand, it is rather urgent. A small airborne expedition team was sent to outside our Western border towards the Black Forest, 125 km outside the buffer zone. The team drifted 20 km beyond the said point and returned with an outstanding discovery. To our surprise, there is a vast formation of rocks just at the edge of the forest and after examining the samples of rocks collected from the site, to our surprise, it was found to be a very high-grade iron ore". The room fell silent. The expedition officer continued, "As you can grasp by the aforesaid details, you may understand what your mission is. We want you to secure the perimeter around the rock formation and secure a safe path inside the Black Forest so that the Engineer Corps can enter and do their bidding. Black forest is still unexplored and is very dense so it may pose a problem. Also, we cannot let other nations know about this discovery. You all know that we are in a tense situation because of that bastard Kingdom of Reedia on our Western and northern front. We have also received a piece of information that Reedia is making moves around that region. We advise you to be careful and you HAVE to hurry. Securing that location is our topmost priority. Preparation of battle plan and strategy, we leave it to you all. Mr. Secretary, do you wish to add anything more? No? Ok, so, we end our briefing here. We wish you success."
The room was silent. They received nothing but a slight description of the mission. No intel about the location, no previous topographical data about the terrain, and the added pressure because of the Reedian Kingdom. So much to worry about. As the soldiers were lost in thought, the commander of the 1st squad, Major Raisena stood up, went near the dias and smashed his fist on the table, he looked up and spoke in a soft but commanding tone. One may say that he is the de facto leader of the Z-Class division. With his baritone, he said, "We cannot mull over what we are assigned. It is a difficult mission. We are going to a very unknown place. We have to be careful, without a plan, we are just dead meat. It was too much for a day, we should take a break and tomorrow, sharp 9 AM, all of you must arrive at the White Room in the headquarters where we will chalk out all the necessary details and strategies. That's it for today, disperse." With a ragged smile, he left followed by all other soldiers. Rai's squad were the last to leave, Shikara was blabbering gibberish, complaining about how little their holidays were, Samara, who was behind her was talking with Rai, both of them with majors in Geography, about the Black Forest and its flora and fauna. Hades was still hyperactive which shocked Sochi. Al-Mar, Juto and Futon were behind all of them sighing, the lazy lot. Rai told them to arrive at the headquarters by 8:30 AM to which they reluctantly agreed. Tomorrow was going to be a big day. A really big one. What will be decided? Who will lead? Will they succeed? The questions loomed across the minds of the special soldiers of the SPC, The Z-Class division, as they went to their respective dwellings to break the news.