Major Hawk walked into the briefing room in the administration building. The room had more occupants than normal. Nearly all the chairs were filled in the room was split between military and civilian. The large monitor on the wall showed a map of the United Kingdom with all the zones highlighted.

When he entered the room, it was clear that the occupants were scanning over several documents that hdd been presented while he was away. There was an open chair for him on the military side and he quickly moved to it.

“How did it go?” Hamilton asked as he sat down.

“As well as can be expected. When I explained the situation, he almost had a panic attack. I honestly think you would rather take on a horde of enemies than face the press or any public attention. I’ve left them with a media consultant.” The laughter went around the room at that.

“I don’t blame him.” Holsan said chuckling.

“All right, then back to business. Colonel, please continue with the briefing.” Hamilton brought the meeting back to purpose.

“As you are all aware, over the last 72 hours to have been a drastic change in zone activity here and across the world.” The colonel in question indicated the screen. “We have seen a dramatic change in the make-up of the defenders of the zones. They are rapidly evolving and mutating into new threat categories.”

The screen on the wall changed, highlighting several zones with flashing red dots. They were scattered across the country.

“The zones made up a wide range of threat types. But as stated over the last 72 hours, they are going through rapid changes in the number and type of defenders. In lethality and numbers, we have marked a steep increase and adjusted the zone threat index accordingly.”

“Any indication on the cause?” Hamilton asked. Review the locations on his e-pad.

“No, sir. Several of his zones were earmarked to be swept as part of their regular containment procedures. As soon as the operatives entered, they were engaged by unknown threats. Our standard protocols dictate that they withdraw and reported the situation. At this time, I have to report that we are two operatives short. Support teams are on standby at the locations, but we are not confident in the operative survival at this time.”

A concerned murmur travels through the room. They could no longer ignore the manpower problem.

“That’s concerning news at this time. Especially with the losses we took in Rome. Adding to the fact that the population’s morale is in the toilet at the moment.” Hamilton was clearly concerned.

“What of rescue operations?” Holsan asked.

“We are mounting one right now to this zone. We only have one spare operative at the moment.” The Colonel indicated the zone in question. “The other has been reported that threats are probing the outer perimeter and is deemed too dangerous to enter at this time. All further rescue operation orders are being put on hold.”

To this, the murmurs of concern increased. They all knew what this meant.

“Regrettable, but I understand.” Hamilton spoke and the murmurs died down. “What of the international situation?”

“We are getting reports from our allies and contacts across the world. It is a similar situation in many places. We have also seen a massive increase in zone creation in the last 72 hours. Many nations' operatives and containment teams are being stretched to the limits, and we believe some will break soon. Civil unrest is increasing across the board, both at national and international levels. Many countries are seeing huge protests or population movements.”

Only silence meets this statement. The men and women at the table had their own thoughts about what this meant. Hamilton indicated to Holsan.

“Thank you for the briefing. That will be all for now.” Holsan told the room.

The people in the room got the message and quickly got up and left. As the door closed with the last leaving, Holsan checked the room’s security settings.

“We are still secure.” He told Hamilton.

“God, what a mess!” Hamilton exclaimed.

“Things are not going well, I agree.”

Hamilton reached over and picked up his e-pad. He scrolls through some documents until he finds what he is looking for.

“Under the present circumstances, how long before our situation becomes critical?”

“With the current losses in personnel and equipment. Factoring in the new conscription act. We think 14 to 16 months before we lose the ability to control the zones in the mainland United Kingdom.” Holsan answered.

Hamilton seemed to shrink from the news as if a great weight had been placed on his shoulders and he could no longer bear it.

“You have seen this report on the international situation?” He asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yes. The global supply chain is coming under increasing stress from these new zones. It’s clear now that there is something intelligent behind what is happening. The fact that now that nearly all these new zones were targeting transportation hubs makes the evidence undeniable.”

“The 2020 pandemic stressed the world’s supply chains and we are developing new procedures to prevent it from happening again. That was one of the few things we did right during that time. A lot of countries did not follow our example returning to the status quo even after the Ukraine/Russian war.” Hamilton thought out loud. “Have you received the update case black report on the international situation regarding their present manpower issues?”

“I got it just before the meeting and I’ve gone through the general points. Have you seen it yet?” Holsan asked.

“No. Give me a breakdown if you please.” This report was so secret that the people who had left the room had no idea what had been generated. It was only available to the highest tiers of government and the military.

“Starting with Europe. Rome was far worse for them. They lost far more personnel and material than they are letting on. We believe that at least all zone closure operations will be curtailed for the next six months. With the new zones opening, they are beginning to suffer major economic disruption. It looks like the European Parliament will enact something similar to the conscription act here. Civil unrest is increasing as the population becomes more aware of the scale of the problem before them or finally admitting to it.”

“Not unexpected. I think they’ll see a lot more social unrest soon, making the current levels pale in comparison.” Hamilton mused. “Please continue.”

“The Middle East is just a mess. Several more zones of what opened up in major population centres. Most of the governments are gone now. Israel has locked its borders completely and successfully contained what zones are in its territory. We are seeing a massive uptick in refugees trying to flee the area. Israel is not letting any in and they’re trying to flee to Europe. The scale is threatening to dwarf the Syrian exodus.”

“The sad fact is they have nowhere to go we are all in the same situation. I think they’ll soon be turned away. Europe might even begin to expel the ones already there. Continue.” Holsan nodded, expecting that.

“India is stable at the moment but is feeling the stress. The government is trying to hide the scale of the problem, but they won’t be able to for much longer.” Hamilton simply nodded and Holsan went on.

“Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia are stable with no major zone expansions or appearances recorded at the moment. They, too, have noted the changes in how the zones defend themselves. They, too, are looking to expand their manpower base.

However, Indonesia has reported several new zones appearing, which is causing massive issues as several ports are threatened to be overrun. We’ve been hearing rumours that they might be planning to abandon some of the small islands. They no longer have the manpower to contain all of the zones located in their territory.

Japan and Korea are feeling the strain but are stable. The same reports of changes in some zones defence posture are being reported. Korea has conscription and Japan is thinking about implementing it again.”

“The Pacific region seems to be doing rather well at the moment, all things considered.” Hamilton remarked.

“Yes, we hope that that remains the case. Moving to Africa, things have taken a turn for the worse. There has been a massive uptick in zone appearances and expansions. This is put what little resources they had under immense strain and we do not believe they will be able to hold out much longer in many countries.”

“That is bad news. The African Union was doing so well in containing the zones on the continent.” Hamilton remarked.

“I agree. It’s just that these recent increases and expansions have just pushed the past them being able to contain them any longer.”

Both men grew silent for a moment, thinking about that.

“The Americas?” Hamilton queried.

“South and Central America are under immense stress at the moment. Panama has reported that a large zone has appeared near the canal and is threatening to cut it.”

“That would be bad. The loss of the Panama Canal or the Suez Canal would be a disaster to the global economy.” Hamilton shifted in his chair.

Before Holsan could say anything, his e-pad alerted him to a message.

“Sorry, just one moment.” He read an email.

“Not more bad news, I hope.” Hamilton quipped.

“No… Maybe good news.” Holsan answered, focused on the pad.

Hamilton remained quiet for a few moments watching Holsan’s reaction to the information he was reading.

“Do you remember the SLAMMER initiative?” Holsan asked after finishing reading the message.

“Yes. We were planning to shut it down soon as it was not showing any actionable results.”

“Well, things appear to have changed.” Holsan was clearly more excited.

“You mean they’ve got one working?” Hamilton was clearly surprised.

“Not to field testing, but they are moving to 2nd stage control testing.”

“Dear God, Robert! This could change everything!” Hamilton exclaimed, standing up and walking around.

“I know, Roger, but we can’t get our hopes up just yet.” Holsan cautioned.

“Yes, your right.” Hamilton returned to his seat. “Let’s finish the report breakdown then.”

“The US, China and Russia are all experiencing similar events to the rest of us. The only one that was sure of was the US. This caused political factions in the country to tone down the rhetoric as the military is under huge strain right now. With the other two, we have no concrete information.”

“Just one match is all at that place needs to go off, Robert. The US would burn like it hasn’t since the Civil War.”

“I know. They’ve gotten close more than once, but they’re holding it together. Just.”

“So that just leaves CANZUK.”

“Well, you know the situation with us. Australia and New Zealand are in a similar situation. Canada is the one that is feeling the real strain at the moment. They’ve seen a massive uptick in refugees from the US. Added to the number of zone increases, they may request support soon.”

“I’ve heard rumours that they, too, will implement their own versions of the conscription act.” Hamilton told him.

“I’m not surprised. They are having massive issues with the manpower now like we are.”

They both fall silent, reflecting on the situation of the world.

“We are losing Robert. We are losing faster than we feared.” Hamilton was looking up at the ceiling when he said it. “But maybe the SLAMMER initiative could be the way out.”

“We can only hope, Roger. We can only hope.”