Ten minutes before 14:00hrs we arrive at the armoury. Lou and his team are moving around serval armour racks used to transport an Operatives kit to and from base camps. Along with the usual retro-bates, I notice a group of figures. Three were in military fatigues and two in suits. They noticed me entering and we looked at me oddly. Before I could approach them, I was tackled by Lou. He lifted me off the ground and spun me around.

“Johnny boy back in action!” He exclaimed. The others turned and looked. The armoury team laughed at Lou’s antics.

“Need. To. Breath.” That was all I could say. Lou was strong I mean really strong. I was finding it hard to breathe. He dropped me as I breathed deeply to recover. “Sorry about that.”

“That’s alright Lou.” I said through deep breaths.

“Alright big deployment tomorrow with the and Henrys group.”

“Henrys heading out as well tomorrow?”

“Na. Deployed today for an inspection and closing like you guys. Should be back tomorrow.”

“Where?” Gregson asked.

“Northern Ireland like you guys. I think they are going to try to close down all the major zones to see what happens.” Lou answered.

We continued to make small talk until to designated time.

Alexander and Holsan appeared as we expected. Gregson and I went over to join them. They had gone straight to the group I did not know. We joined them and formed a rough circle.

“Excellent with us all now here we can begin.” Alexander said. “We have decided to do a meet and greet here to get you ready for tomorrow’s deployment. I will introduce you all to those who have not met.”

“This is Operative Mannford from Canada with his government liaison Mrs Becker.” He indicated to the pair on his left. The two nodded in greeting. I was only really interested in Mannford as we will be diving into the zone together. Brown hair and green eyes. Almost as tall as me and lean. Good chance of career military from his bearing.

“Then we have Operative Karlsson and Mr Lindqvist from the Euro Corps.” The two were nodding in greeting us. Again, only Karlsson was really of interest. Shorter and stockier than me. Dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. He had a tired resigned look that I understood all too well.

“From UKZC we have Operative Keller.” He indicated to a woman in fatigues. She was shorter still, slighter and not bad looking. Her long brown hair was in a high ponytail and she had brown eyes. She was trying to present the front as a professional but I was not buying it. Probably no one else either but we kept quiet.

“And finally, we have Operative Harrington.” He indicates to me and I nod to the others. Again, I get several looks that I cannot identify. I wonder about that.

“I will hand the meeting to General Holsan now for the mission break down.” Holsan stepped up. Odd he was here doing this. Being the most senior officer on base as far as I knew.

“Thank you. As you have all been informed this is a joint training and observation mission. You will be all going into a zone located in a town near the Irish border called Meigh. In the zone, there is a Grave type located at the local chapel. You will be going in clearing any hostiles and then calling in a sealing team. The full briefing will be held on-site as standard. This is part of a wider operation to close all the mid to high-tier zones in Northern Ireland.” He looked around at us all. “UKZC is deploying to seal two other zones. That is happening today and tomorrow. Hopefully, we can use the momentum we can create here to begin to clear the zones from the world.”

“You will be required to check your kit and get to know each other. Tomorrow you all will be airlifted to your base camp.”

He steps back at this allowing Alexander to take over again. Sounds like they are changing tactics. I wonder if it will work.

“Right, I will not keep you any longer as you all and Sargent Green have work to do.”

All those who are not Operatives leave us alone. Lou wanders over.

“Alright, boys and girls how are we doing this?” Classic Lou straight to the point.

“I think we should see what we are working with weapon-wise.” I reply. “Let’s start with my loadout.” The others seem interested and Lou nods.

“Ok, this way.” He leads us over to a large container. The container is open and my kit is stored in it. “All yours John.”

“Alright. I am John Harrington and it seems I will be leading this one.” I turn to the container. “As you see I favour an axe and shield combo. I have a roman gladius and trench knife as a backup along with the standard gear.”

I point to the different weapons and my shield. The other operatives seem interested in my choices.

“Any questions?” I ask.

“Why the axe and not a sword or mace?” Mannford asks.

“I find the axe is the best of both. Got a bludgeoner and blade.” I answer.

“Why two backup weapons?” Keller asked hesitantly.

“The gladius is for close-up work and the trench knife is my weapon of last resort.”

“Have you ever used it?” She queried.

“Yes.” That was my flat answer to the question. The others knew not to ask anymore. They had been into zones. She looked and bit confused by my answer and was about to speak again.

“Ok Abby, let’s check yours out.” Lou moved us on. We moved to the next container.

“Hi. I am Abby Keller I use a mace and shield. With a sword as my secondary weapon” Inside the racks was her armour as well as her weapons. The mace was the favoured type of round head with spikes. Her shield was close to a buckler in size. Her sword I would bet was smaller than my gladius.

She blushed under the attention as we looked at her kit and her. She was one of the smallest Operatives I had seen. I was concerned about how she would perform. It’s not a sexist thing but one of strength and endurance. In combat height and reach also matter. She was going to be at a disadvantage a lot of the time. Looking back at her I realised that she was going to be given easier zones to manage if she passed.

The rest of her kit was the standard UKZC layout like mine. She was also issued the new armour type like the one I had field-tested to destruction. Lou was still complaining about that.

“Looks like I am next.” Karlsson said to see the items in the next container.

We moved over to his container.

“Sven Karlsson is my name and I use a mace and shield combination along with a sword as a back-up” He indicated into the container vaguely with his hand. It was clear from his accent that he was from Sweden. He too used a round mace with spikes. It was however a lot bigger and heavier than Abby’s. His shield was more like a roman rectangle shield and was larger than mine. Similar to a riot shield as in see-through plastic material. He also had a gladius as his backup.

His armour was slightly different and so was his additional kit loadout but not that different. Euro Corps and UKZC shared a lot of data and developed many same conclusions.

“Well, that means I am last. My name is Jake Mannford from the Canadian Zone Command. I favour a slightly different loadout.” He indicated his kit. The armour was the same as CANZUK developed it together. He had a metal baseball bat with many spikes protruding from it. He had no shield but three of what I think are bowie knives are present in his container on the racks.

“No shield?” I ask surprised.

“No, I like to keep moving rather than stand and meet an attack.” He answered. I nod but this was defiantly not my style as my shield had saved my arse several times. Different strokes for different folks I suppose.

The others asked a few questions regarding each other’s weapons and styles. I noticed that they were keeping a distance with Keller glancing over at me now and again. Lou was next to me watching answering any questions about what was in his domain.

“Hey, Lou do I smell worse than normal?” I asked him quietly.

He turns to look at me and it dawned on him what was happening. He smiled and replied.

“No kid it’s the fact that you’re famous.”

I snort at his answer and shake my head. This causes him to laugh. Alexander reappears and gathers us up before I could say more.

“Alright everyone you will be met by Captain Clarkson tomorrow at the transport BLT helicopters. He will be overseeing the mission from the base camp.” Again, this was odd for a normal UKZC set-up. Normally he would be at the base camp. Hell, a major was the lowest rank officer who would normally run the camp and the mission.

Some things did not make sense. I could understand with the new transport helicopters I had heard about that they would seek to focus more operations from UKZC’s main base. It was just odd some of the choices that were being shown. I was not sure what the logic was.

The others departed to meet their handlers. Lou was sealing up the crates ready for transport tomorrow. I went over to see what I could learn.

“Hey Lou, what’s with all the changes?” I ask. He turns and looks a bit confused. Then he nods to himself.

“Right, you have been out of action during the last few months. Typical they would not have told you. Or did you ignore the briefing material again?” he asked looking at me. Innocent of this one. “Command has found that the old system was slow to respond to new zones popping up. So those new cargo helicopters the Ox’s as they are called are being used.”

“Ox’?” I was not convinced.

“Yea, the official name is the Bulk Transport Loader Helicopter or BTL for short. We just call it the Ox. They are larger and can carry more, faster as well than the old Chinooks.” He motioned to his crew to get the containers moving. “It’s been decided that a more flexible approach was needed. I think it was just costing too much time and money getting the old rigs around the country.”

I would not be surprised at that. The British Government trying to save money no matter the long-term cost. I forget how fast things change when you are not around. Having the Operatives flown in with their kit would reduce the convoy size by about one or two lorries.

Lou has quickly swept away with the duties of his position and I decide to let him get on with it. I leave the armoury knowing I would be here overnight I start to text my mother as I would stay at the base accommodation.

“Er…...excuse me” I hear from behind. I turn to see Abby standing there. I noticed Gregson heading towards us.

“What’s up?” I ask her. She is hesitant and unsure. The fact I could see this was extremely telling.

“I was………what I mean is………do you have any advice about tomorrow?” She managed to get out.

I pause and reflect on what she asked then answered her.

“Three things to know. First, always be looking around since danger can come from any direction. Second, don’t be afraid to get out if you are over your head. Finally, do your best to be ready for anything.” She nods at the first two but frowns at the last.

“How can I do that?” She asks.

“That is up to you.”

“John we are needed in the administration building.” Gregson said from behind her.

“Right lead the way.”

Abby looked like she wanted to say more but Gregson indicated that I was needed elsewhere. We headed off to find out what was required.