The next day…
In the dawn of the light, the PEOC specials ops first unit – Matthew, Josh, Nolan, Frank and Major were called into the main tent. As they stepped in, they glanced at the supreme commander and both generals sitting at a table in the center. They wasted no time, crossing their arms behind their backs and standing at ease beside one another. Matthew drew a sharp breath and spoke.
"The first unit of the PEOC, reporting for duty, sir!"
The three high ranking enforcers nodded slowly. David leaned back and opened his mouth.
"Lieutenant general – Matthew. We called for you, didn't we?"
"Yes, sir." Matthew replied.
"Let's get straight to the point." Lancelot pointed at them. "You'll be capturing one of the ravens and crows we saw while in here."
The group nodded. Nyx leaned forward and intertwined her fingers.
"You have all the time in the world. We need a live sample of both. Be sure to return to camp every night though" She stated.
The team nodded again before Major opened his mouth.
"I have an inquiry, mam."
"What is it?" Nyx replied.
"How will we communicate if our meta-glasses break down outside your veil." Major asked.
"That's simple." Nyx smiled, pointing at David. "We'll use his attribute to create a mental link between you all."
"I understand, thank you."
"Okay, then. All of you step forward."
The group followed the supreme commander's orders without delay, approaching the table in strides. When they were close enough, David stood up and placed his hand on Matthew's forehead. The generals closed his eyes and activated his attribute. After a few moments, he let go and opened his eyes.
"You're the hub now. All their thoughts go through you, understand?" David asked.
"Yes, sir." Matthew replied, dizzily.
'I feel like a balloon is in my head right now…'
Matthew thought as the general went down the line, creating a mental link between the group. After doing so, he walked back to his seat and sat down, waving at the team.
"Now, go meet up with Charles and Sterling. They'll give you the rest of the plan."
Matthew and company nodded, turned around and exited the tent.
'Well…looks like we're the hunters now.' Nolan commented through the link.
'To be honest, I can't wait to get out.' Frank stretched his arms. 'But before that I need something to eat…'
'We have to be careful.' Josh stated. 'Just look at what happened to Kay from Arthur's team.'
'Yeah…but hey, at least we'll get free healthcare.' Matthew joked.
The team laughed heartily at Matthew's joke while walking across the campsite, heading towards the scientist's tent.
***
Matthew and company entered the scientist's tent, seeing various pieces of equipment working with the super-laptop in the middle. Multiple researches were checking the devices, making sure the correct data was inputted and that a mistake hadn't occurred. In the corner of Major's eyes, he saw Sterling and Charles sipping tea while the inverted cheetah sat beside them, yawning.
'That's cool.' Nolan blurted.
'For real.' Josh replied.
'Can you not use the mental link for this?' Matthew reprimanded his team.
'Sorry – sorry. Let's ask for the details.'
The group approached them after bantering in their minds. As Charles took a sip of this tea, he noticed the group approaching.
"Ah! Looks like you're finally here." He adjusted his hat. "Sterling. They're here."
Sterling choked on his tea, coughing for a few seconds. The team stopped awkwardly for a moment as Sterling came to his senses. Sterling set down his tea, placing his hands on his knees.
"Sorry…I was a bit surprised." He locked eyes with Matthew. "You're here for a briefing?"
"We are…?" Matthew answered in a soft tone.
"Well, then…take a seat. It's going to be a long briefing." Sterling urged.
"There aren't any chairs left…" Nolan commented.
Sterling adjusted his glasses and looked around, seeing no chairs.
"Then, just stand. It's fine."
"Uh, huh…" Frank whispered.
Charles grabbed a file from the table and flipped it open.
"Now, open your ears…" He licked his lips.
Matthew, Josh, Nolan, Frank and Major leaned in closer. Charles drew a deep breath and opened his mouth.
"So, we're conducting an analysis on the ecosystem here. As you can see, we've already got one sample." Charles pointed at the cheetah.
"His name is tony by the way." Sterling patted the chaos mutated mammal.
The group nodded intuitively, knowing they would remember the name of a cheetah more than this briefing. Charles drew their attention back with a snap and continued.
"So, you need to find two live sample – a crow and raven because those are the only two birds we've seen but if you find any other bird, bring it too."
Frank raised his arm.
"Yes?" Charles said.
"What happens if we find a chaos mutated animal like tony?" Frank inquired.
"Then, capture it as well. We'll provide everything you need. You'll just need to carry it out." Charles answered.
Frank lowered his hand and continued listening with the others. After a few minutes of being briefed by the scientist, the group's back were starting to ache.
'When is this going to end? My back is killing me…' Nolan complained.
'This is important, will you shut up!' Josh hissed within the mental link.
'Stop using my mental hub as your banter spot!' Matthew screamed in his mind.
Just then, Charles finished his briefing and slammed the file shut. He placed on the table and locked eyes with the group.
"If you listened to everything I said, then you'll have no problem. You'll find you equipment outside the tent. We've already prepared it for you."
"Thank you, sir." Matthew stated as the team turned away.
"You're welcome." Charles replied.
As the group stepped outside, Charles turned towards Sterling.
"They didn't hear a lick of what I said, did they?"
"Nope." Sterling laughed.