The Creek, East Katesia - Italai Border. February 16th XXXX
"It is the last day that lil'Kate will open the border towards everyone, this afternoon, the border will be sealed and will probably remain so for quite a long time. What do you think will happen? Do you think it would affect our part of the continent? What will happen to the global economy?
Well, I don't think much will happen, although this week is quite interesting after the sabotage of the Rosen Nuclear Power-plant. It has devastated their economy severely and I doubt they can recover the control of the economy. I guess it is time that they surrender! Still, I've got a bad feeling with this...." - Senior Daily Talk Show
Albert sat there all morning, bored. He looks out the window: The bridge is still there, the barricade is still there, the walls stood strong and the lighting still works. This is one of the most anti-climatic jobs he ever did. The only difference is that the Eastern Katesia Soldiers - whom the border patrols nicknamed them "The Yellow Kates" - were gone. He looked around the opposing border but couldn't find any patrols.
This was fairly normal circumstances, as East Katesia always uses up huge lots of manpower without checking their reserve. When the Army is sucked dry, they drag the border soldiers to the capitol to protect the Government officials and upper-class. If it wasn't for the loop-hole in the
Albert looked back at their own border wall and sighed. Because of the longtime conflict, The divided Katesias are now lacking behind the other countries, its technological advancement is now more than twenty years behind. It is currently the only country without full access to MEDI technology; a basic healing tool can cost thousands.
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Storm clouds gathered up in the distance, blame the man-made nuclear meltdown, he thought. Albert becomes more awake as sensors indicate that a large group of people is passing through the bridge, he turned on the camera of the sentry, which sits silently on the side of the bridge.
One, two three... 18 people. He counted. Some are wearing cloaks, others are wearing coats, most of their clothes are tattered on some part, there is even a rusted jeep driving alongside them. He would've thought they were all refugees until he saw a head popped out of the jeep hatch, then the windows of the jeep doors were lowered and he could see the driver inside with a helmet on his head. So that makes 19 People. He recounted after making sure there are no more people inside that battered vehicle.
The sensors on the bridge detected no harmful chemical nor weaponry or bombs on those people, albeit a kitchen knife, possibly for self-defence, however, the sensor's waves cannot penetrate the metal casing of the jeep.
"Order, order! Line up in the lanes! Don't step out please, thank you!" The Italai border guards shouted as the refugee crossed the line into the country of Italai, also known as "The Nation of the fog." The Humvee sputtered and stopped, as people lined up to prepare a temporal passport for those refugees. Albert didn't find the need to give these people a place, the Authorities said it could give them a bigger workforce, he only sees the production rate decline.
As he readied the booth to start the border inspection, the two figures in the Humvee exited and also hurried into the lane, the elevator lowering the vehicle to the basement for item detection.
These days, technology is far too advanced, dangerous items can be disguised as very innocent items and hidden in blind spots that even human eyes couldn't see the difference, so everything needs to be scanned. He pressed the button to allow the first refugee inside while eating his canned noodles.
"Name and occupation?" He asked the old man.
"I'm Adam Rudinberg and my previous occupation is a window cleaner." He replied
"Age?" Albert asked again.
"Forty-Eight." Younger than he had predicted
"Have you carried any other items or consumables?" He questioned him while staring at him eye to eye, full of scepticism.
"No, I only brought some salty bread and bottled water, I already used them all up on the way here."
"Are you previously part of the Union League, the O.A.B.C, or the CORE?"
"Well, I was born in East Katesia, so naturally I am part of Union league Infantry soldiers for a few years when I was young. I couldn't take it anymore so I came here on my own."
"Alright then, you may go to the extraction station, the train will depart in 40 minutes, it will direct you to the Capital City's Passport Agency, have a good day."
"Thank you!"
"Yeah, no problem, just doing my job."
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This went on for quite a while until there is only the driver of the jeep and the girl that climbed out of the jeep hatch. He noticed that she is carrying a metal crate.
"Name and occupation?" He asked
"I'm Rita, a retired and really wholesome Cardiavska agent who never got a bomb under my shoe!" The girl replied cheerfully.
Albert was dumbfounded, he has seen a lot of Cardiavska spies, but they were always blank, expressionless and conspicuous, so most were dead after a few operations and the spying project was eventually abolished.
Not many were alive after the country abandoned them. Their government started to chase and capture all those former agents who managed to escape the country to not leak sensitive information.
"So... What rank were you as an agent?" He asked curiously.
"I'm at the very top because I'm the mission operator! Most times I uses Virtual display and radios to contact and direct my team, sometimes I also get to snipe and explode people on top of a van!"
"Woah, that is quite intense." He knows that some of the countries use child soldiers, but children with experimental energy weapons are not common.
"So... What is in this crate?"
"Lots of fun stuff! Sentries, E.M.P. grenade launcher, laser rifles, long-range wall cutter, kinetic shield launcher, magnetic-"
"I heard enough! these things are clearly not legal, I'm confiscating them." This crate is basically a terrorist's birthday present. Albert shuddered at the thought of all these fired at the same time.
"But it said on the label that they are perfectly safe and fun??" Rita gave him a really innocent look, he sighed and opened his examination tablet. The tablet scanned the crate and displayed the content description stamped on the side of the heavy box.
The description is eye dropping: 'For recreational use. Contains equipment not suitable for under 8 years old of age. Warning: The company and its product are not liable for illegitimate and false information, take your own risk.'
Albert nearly choked on his canned pasta, this is one of the stupidest content description embedded onto a package he has ever seen.
"...Anyways, this is still not okay. I will have to take it away, sorry for the inconvenience." He grunted and a retractable claw lowered from the ceiling. It grabbed the crate and dropped it into a shaft marked Disposed and retracted back into the ceiling.
After finishing the border check, he allowed her to pass, though she pouted before walking through the exit.
The driver of the jeep, who is a young boy with an army helmet on his head, went inside as he gave the information to Albert, the border inspector is pleased with the passport and ID, in which he is also allowed to pass the checkpoint.
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Italai is a small country. Some of the places are submerged by murky water and foggy hills, rendering it ideal to farm berries. The communities are small and are mostly situated near seas and lakes, which is why it is so foggy in the cities and harbors.
But they are peaceful and happy.
Except it won't last.
[7] [0] [6] [2] KATESIA SRBM FIRING IN 09:43:57
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