The Other Side

Customs Enforcement Ministry

Location: GATE D, Earth side, CEM checkpoint

Time: 0930 local time

Once again a new ministry, this time the CEM. CEM stands for Customs Enforcement Ministry, it is a part of SecDiv and works closely with NOID. It functions as New Orderian border patrol and guards any GATE accessible to the public. The CEM's main goal is to stop smuggling of weapons, drugs, and other illegal things into New Orderia. That is why the GATE D checkpoint is so important, the people responsible for the Lamcosa crisis and Vale bombings were armed with AK-74s, an Earth weapon. That means someone is providing weapons from Earth to Remnant terror forces. Now we meet our new CEM officers: Melgan, Lent, and Jasper. Jasper is the K9 officer assigned to these two lanes of traffic.

The three started in the central booth reading the bulletin. It is updated daily by watch commanders and has accurate information on what is allowed in or out. IDs are expected to be checked for anyone entering and if someone attempts to blow past the checkpoint lethal force is necessary. Today the important information includes:

-Search ALL vehicles entering for weapons, fertilizer, other materials that can be used to make a bomb, ammunition, and drugs. A series of bombings have occurred on the other side of the GATE, we trust the materials they need to continue this won't get through.

-Non compliance with requests is now only to be responded to with absolute force. Any complaints about you drawing your weapon on an unarmed person will be punished much less harshly with minimal investigation, do not abuse this.

-Knowingly letting explosives or weapons through without watch commanders permission and alert to the other side is high treason and punishable by death or life inprisonment.

-For a hostage situation discretely activate your radio and talk about the weather, say polar when referring to it. Polar is the code word for hostage, if there is a bomb and a hostage say the same thing and return to your booth and then call it in. 

After reading the bulletin the three officers went to their seats. Jasper got his K9 out of its crate and put it on a leash. While inside it could relax but if it went outside then it was on duty. The only reason for this is the immense cold from the Antarctic air.

Lent: 1 coming to my booth. Hello sir please roll down the window.

The driver of the car put the window down and put his hands on the steering wheel.

Lent: License, registration, proof of insurance please.

The driver handed him the documents and Lent did his checks. The ID was class A-1, everything was valid. Lent ran the plate and that also came back mostly clear, the only issue was the color. The plate said it was red but the car in front of him was black.

Lent: What color was this car four months ago?

Driver: Red, my car had a bunch of chipped paint and I decided to get it repainted in a color I liked more.

Lent: Alright, it is procedure for a K9 to search the vehicle so please step out.

The driver stepped out as Lent and Jasper checked the car. Lent checked the vin number while Jasper and his dog did a search. The dog did its checks and found nothing and Lent validated everything was valid with the vehicle.

Lent: Here is your entry ticket, give it to the next checkpoints. Have a nice day.

Lent handed the driver a blue slip and the driver left down the road. Lent and Jasper went back inside to the warmth of the checkpoint booth.

Radio: Damn is it cold out here, I feel bad for the K9s, some polar storm shit is happening.

The officers figured out what was happening and grabbed their rifles. They slung them around their backs and walked causally towards the officer that called in the hostage situation. Inside a white SUV was a man clearly scared shitless with something black strapped to his neck. The officer that called it in stopped talking and walked inside the booth.

Radio: Bomb dog alerted to the driver, appears to have an explosive collar strapped to him.

Radio: 10-4, EOD team is moving towards you.

Luckily not many people cross the checkpoint at once so there was only the car with a bomb currently. Down the road a CEM patrol car was closing down the off ramp to the highway so no more cars would approach. The checkpoint near the GATE itself also had been shut down by CEM vehicles. A team of officers with FLIR cameras checked the car for another heat signature handed the driver a slip of paper.

Officer: Damn, did you decide to come here before or after the cold front hit?

The driver looked at the paper for a second before answering.

Driver: A-After, not my brightest moment.

Officer: Do you have any family?

Driver: Only my sister.

The paper was a short list of questions and the answers he could give, if he said before it would say it was a button or switch for detonation, after means it was on a timer, last year would mean that he didn't know anything. The family question also has some pre set answers, sister means that he had weapons in the car and brother would mean another explosive, step anything means drugs. With this information the officers sent up the EODs to disarm the bomb. It took a minute but the bomb was disarmed and the vehicle was impounded by NOHP troopers. The driver was sent with the troopers and the checkpoint was closed for the day for investigation and to find any more explosives.