The adventures of the Environmental Gendarmes in another world (Republished)

First contact

The convoy had stopped in the middle of the highway with its personnel trying to figure out what just happened. All the officers are shaken to the core from what they just experienced. What was that storm? No one can tell, but they all agree on one thing. This was no regular storm. Maybe it was an E.M.P. which is what could have affected the electrical systems of all the vehicles. Some officers suggest that World War 3 might have broken out and they are caught in the crossfire which makes more sense to Ace but there's one detail missing. What caused the earthquake? It couldn't have been caused by an E.M.P. The only possibility is that the nearby cities were struck by nuclear missiles but still something's missing. They should have seen the explosions occurring, after all they are not too far from the border with Europe. There were no explosions and the sky changed to black, not to yellow as it normally would have.

Ace gets out of his truck with the others doing the same. To the lieutenant's surprise, no one is injured

-'What just happened?', asks one of the cadets who still seems shaken.

-'I don't know', says another cadet. 'It's like we were hit by an Electromagnetic Pulse'.

-'I don't think so' says the same cadet doubtful. 'Then what caused the earthquake?'

-'Beats me', responds another cadet and turns towards Ace. 'What do you think it was sir?'

The lieutenant didn't know what to say. While all of the answers made sense, all of them were missing some clues. Even if they combined all answers together, they still couldn't find a final answer.

Ace turns towards the cadets and responds.

-'I don't know cadet', he says while still trying to come up with an explanation. 'But this was neither an E.M.P. nor a nuclear attack. It was no natural phenomenon either. I don't know why but none of your theories make sense'.

-'Do you have any theories sir?', a cadet asks, doubtful of the lieutenant's answer.

-'I'm not sure', Ace responds. 'Did you try to contact headquarters?'

-'We tried', says the cadet. 'There is no response, only parasites'.

-'That's even more weird', Ace thinks. 'Then there's no reason to deny the obvious'.

-'Which is what sit?', asks another cadet who had been listening to the lieutenant's out loud thinking.

-'We are caught in a crossfire, just not World War 3'. The young lieutenant's respond leaves everyone even more confused. If it's not a Third World War, then what else could it be? Before anyone can ask more questions, the lieutenant gives them the answer that solves the entire quiz.

-'The attack was meant for us', he says. 'The Europeans and the Russians used their E.M.P.s on us to eliminate all of our communications and catch us off guard'.

-'That still doesn't explain the earthquake sir', says one cadet, still confused.

-'Indeed it doesn't cadet', says Ace. 'This is where a conspiracy theory comes up which may be possible'.

-'What do you suggest sir?'

-'Weather control', Ace says, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

-'What do you mean sir?', asks the same cadet.

-'I've heard once that the Americans are working on developing satellites that are capable of weather control, such as causing storms and rain and with the current technology it wouldn't surprise me if that's the case'.

-'So what are you suggesting sir?', the cadet asks.

-'I am suggesting that everything happened with this timeline', the lieutenant responds and starts to explain to the cadets in a calm voice tone. 'First the Americans used one of their weather control satellites to create the storm. Then the Russians struck the big cities with their ballistic missiles so that they could catch us off guard, giving the Europeans the chance to send troops to capture the remaining towns and reincorporate them back into United Europe'.

As much as the cadets want to disagree, the lieutenant's theory actually makes a lot of sense. Given the anti-environmental sentiment that exists within the world's superpowers, it would simply be a matter of time before they could eliminate anyone and everything standing in their way and the newly founded republic and its people was one of them. Maybe these ten years of peace gave the world's superpowers the perfect opportunity to make their move. They were idiots to believe their words that the ceasefire would be respected. They simply gave the Europeans a chance to wipe them out completely and to make sure that no other environmentalists would get in their way of their industrial plans.

-'What do we do now sir?', asks a cadet who seems worried.

-'I don't know about you but I am not going back there', says the lieutenant. 'If the country is taken over by the European army then we'll most likely be arrested, tried for treason and then locked up for the rest of our lives inside a cell. And for what? For protecting mother nature from destruction? I'd rather be a fugitive than submit to a false system that doesn't care about the environment or equality. If anyone wants to leave do so now, before you break any rules'.

The cadets and other officers look at each other for a few seconds. These few seconds seemed like an hour for the lieutenant. They probably want to go back to their homes and families. Ace, who has no family, understands that and feels the compassion. If they want to go back it's their own right. He won't stop them from following their own instincts. It won't be easy to survive on his own but he'll make it through somehow. Maybe non lethal pistol can't do much but it will be enough.

-'I'll fight with you sir?', says one of the cadets. 'I don't see any reason to go back'.

-'Me too', says another cadet. 'I vowed to protect mother nature. I can't go back now even if I wanted to'.

-'Count me in lieutenant', says another cadet.

-'I'm with you sir', says another cadet. 'Mother nature and equality come first'.

-'We are all with you sir', says one of the two women.

They all then salute the lieutenant which surprises him. He was expecting everyone to come to him and wish him good luck and then shake his hand and say goodbye. He doesn't know what to say. It's too sudden for him that he didn't prepare the right words. The only response he can give them is to salute back which is enough for them. He then gets in his pickup truck and turns on emergency lights.

-'Gendarmes, forward', he yells and everyone runs to the vehicles. The lieutenant can't help but feel some sort of satisfaction. For the first time in his life he was feeling proud of being in charge of his own unit. He's feeling so proud that he wants to climb on the roof of his pickup truck and sing whatever song came up on his mind, but he can get over not doing so.

-'Sir we're ready to move', says a voice on the radio.

-'Follow me', the lieutenant responds. He knows there's no going back now. He and the cadets made their choices. They are not willing to give up their beliefs and if they have to fight, they will fight. Even of their country is gone, the Gendarmerie is not. Even if they are the last Gendarmes of the republic they will continue to serve the environmental law to which they pledged their allegiance. They won't let the blood that was spilled ten years ago to go in vain.

With the emergency lights flashing and the sirens on, the convoy was once again on the move. No one knows what awaits them now but they all agree on one thing, nothing will be the same from now on. There will be happy moments and sad moments. They may get killed in the process but they'd rather go down fighting than surrender. They may have lost everything but they haven't lost mother nature yet. They have to keep fighting to protect it, at least what's left of it. Even if there's only one tree left, it still gives them a reason to fight.

The convoy is moving down an old dirt road, similar to the roads in Afghanistan. The civil war must have broken out again. The resistance doesn't seem to be willing to give up to the harsh system imposed by the Islamist Taliban. Even if they lost their last stronghold in Panjshir, they still can put up a fight, striking their enemies from Uzbekistan. Maybe the U.S. abandoned them but their allies on the North and in Europe have not. With the supplying of weapons and medicines from their allied countries, one of which happens to be the unrecognized N.E.R., the resistance has succeeded in causing numerous casualties among the Taliban occupiers and recapturing a few villages at the border. As long as they have allies, they will never stop.

After a few hours, the convoy stops near a lake. The sun is about to set and Ace has decided that it's dangerous to circulate at night in a time of crisis. Who knows what dangers might be waiting for them in the dark? The best thing to do is to set up a camp and wait for the sunrise.

Ace gets out of his pickup truck and stretches his hands and legs. Six hours of driving is very exhausting for him and can be very unhealthy to sit in a chair for hours. No wonder why he is exercising very often when off duty. Even on active duty he finds the chance to exercise by using his bicycle. Most of his colleagues would assume that he does that to become a bodybuilder. That's not true though. He never cared for that stuff. He says bodybuilding is for those who want to impress. He always needs to have a reason for everything and it irritates him. Why is it hard for someone to think that he does that because that simply because he likes it? There isn't always a reason behind everything. Unfortunately most people in society always need to have a reason and it's irritating, but it doesn't matter. After all he is used to it.

He turns towards the cadets and speaks.

-'Tonight we camp here', he says. It's too dangerous to circulate at night right now so we'll wait here'.

-'And where are we going to sleep sir?',asks a cadet.

-'We haven't brought any tents or sleeping bags so we'll have to sleep inside the vehicles', the lieutenant responds. 'So make yourselves comfortable. I'll arrange who will sleep in which vehicle'.

Ace walks towards the lake, he kneels and places his hand on the water. It's nice feeling the water hitting the hand. He really needed this in a time like that. The water helps him calm down whenever he is feeling anxious. He hoped he could take a bath to relax but he didn't bring his swimming trunks with him. Too bad. He could have enjoyed a long, fresh bath after all these hours.

This is not the right time to bath as they still have work to do. They must find out where they are. It's been six hours since they were driving and all they saw were just trees and green fields. They should have passed by a small town two hours ago but when they arrived at the area it wasn't there. It could have been destroyed by a ballistic missile but there were no signs of an attack. It's like the whole town vanished in thin air.

He gets up and walks towards the two trucks that are pulling the trailers with the patrol boats and signals with his left hand the cadets who run towards him.

-'Let's get these boats on the water', he says.

-'Yes sir', cadets respond without asking any questions.

With a quick right turn and a reverse performed by the two pickup trucks, the boats are placed on the water in about five minutes, quicker than any other time. The whole procedure usually takes them fifteen minutes but this time it was a record. This time there was no need to check on the engine, the solar panels, the computer or go through this boring procedure for a second time because the boats were brand new and tested at the shipyards. They were all confident about the abilities to the new boats. Well, it's time to test them to their fullest.

-'Start the engines', says the lieutenant to the boat's pilots who are standing on the steering wheels.

-'Yes sir', the two pilots respond.

As they are about to turn on the electrical motors, an arrow lands near the feet of the lieutenant. He picks it up and examines it. It is not a regular fiberglass arrow like the ones used in the Olympics. It is an arrow made out of wood like in the medieval times. Before he can think of anything else, five more arrows land near his feet, causing him to run behind his pickup truck to take cover.

-'Everyone take cover', he yells and the cadets obey. More arrows land on the ground, and them more arrows and then even more arrows. Some of them land on the vehicles but fail to go through the armor.

-'What's happening?'. Asks one of the cadets terrified.

-I don't know', says the lieutenant. 'I'll try to take a look.

He opens the door of his pickup truck and looks through the glass. A small group of people dressed in 14th century clothing are attacking them with bows and arrows. This confuses the lieutenant even more. This is clearly not an illusion, what he is seeing is real and he can't deny it. If that's the case then his second theory is right.

He looks at the cadets and responds to their question.

-'We may have traveled back in time', he says confusing the cadets as well. 'Hey you', he yells pointing at one of them. 'What is your name cadet?'

-'Amadi Mohammed sir', the cadet responds.

-'Get on the turret and use the UL-20', says the lieutenant pointing at the turret with his right hand. 'I'll assist you with my pistol'

-'Sir the UL-20 is an ultrasound automatic rifle, they are attacking us with lethal weapons', says Mohammed, trying to protest.

-'I know but we can't blast them with our anti tank missiles either, we only want to defend ourselves not kill anybody'.

-'Fine', Mohammed yells and runs to the back of the armored vehicle. Once the rain of arrows stops, Ace finds the perfect opportunity. He draws his ultrasound pistol and aims at one of the archers. He aims as carefully as possible hoping he doesn't miss the first shot, he deactivates the safety lock and pulls the trigger. The gun makes a clicking sound like a camera and the bowman is knocked unconscious. A second bowman is also knocked unconscious by Mohammed who had just set up the rifle on the turret of the armored vehicle. For the next few minutes the bowmen and the Gendarmes were shooting at each other with the Gendarmes managing to knock several bowmen out with their ultrasound pistols. Eventually the bowmen ran out of arrows and had to retreat.

-'It looks as if we won', says Mohammed, feeling proud for his first shot.

The lieutenant wasn't very happy though. He had hoped for a peaceful encounter and not a battle but because he and his colleagues got attacked they had no other choice than to defend themselves.

-'We only achieved to defend ourselves', says the lieutenant. 'That was no victory. Victory would have been achieved through a peaceful encounter. We don't go around shooting just because of self-defense'.

-'Who were these guys anyway?', asks another cadet.

-'Judging from their clothes and weapons, they are from the 14th century, which means that we have traveled back in time'.

-'That's impossible, it can't happen', says Mohammed.

-'That's what I thought too', Ace responds. 'But think about it. Two hours ago we were supposed to arrive in a small town and that town is now gone. As far as I know this is the only road that exists here so we couldn't have taken any shortcuts and the fact that the GPS does not work makes this theory more likely'.

The cadets look at the lieutenant, then at each other and they agree. The mysterious storm, the town that is no longer there and the recent encounter, all together lead to the same answer, time travel, there's no point denying it anymore.

Anxiety and fear takes over the cadets, some wanting to go back to the present day and some already adapting to the current situation. The possibility of being stuck here forever for those who are terrified causes hysteria and panic, and for those who have already adapted, including the lieutenant, they think the best thing is to sit and wait for an aftershock to return and if it doesn't happen, then the only thing for them left will be to survive for as long as possible.

After calming the cadets down with the assistance of Mohammed and the second lieutenant, Ace orders the two patrol boats deployed in order to verify and report of the situation. He wants to gather more information on their surroundings before thinking of their next move. The only way to do that is by doing reconnaissance missions.

Armed and ready, the patrol boats are soon deployed. They are to report and return to base. After a few minutes of navigating in the lake, the boats arrive at a small town. Using their binoculars, the two pilots report through the radio what they are seeing. The hommes appear to be made of wood and have a similar design as the houses in the medieval era. The people are all wearing medieval clothing, some can be seen wearing clothes of the 18th century. At the coast of the lake a few men can be seen unloading their boats, probably fishermen.

The pilots want to get a closer look but they can't. Unfortunately even if the boats are silent, the size of the vessels can't go unnoticed. They try to approach but they soon receive the order to return. The lieutenant has heard enough for today. He'll send them back tomorrow at daylight. For now it's best to lay low as they don't know what dangers the might be facing out there.

From now on the Gendarmes must be on high alert 24 hours a day. Things are about to get even more difficult. The peace they once knew is now over. What matters now is survival.