After the terms were negotiated with General Edward, the spaceship entered the atmosphere of the planet and an emergency General Council meeting was called over. The people understood that the big movement will make another change in the system, however, they did not mind it anymore. The previous changes have done well for the federal military forces.
All the generals attended the meeting in person. They all gathered in the secret room, Shi Lang sat on the chair of the first general and the rest also sat in their own order, with even ranked generals on the right and odd ranked on the left. The only thing different in the room was the humanoid bot standing behind Shi Lang.
Shi Lang said, “The council is now in session.”
[0)ᴠʟ The door at the end was sealed with a combination of locks. Shi Lang said, “You all might be wondering why I have called you over here. You see, these past few days I have done a lot of things, and I think that I can still do more. However, I am not patient enough.”
His words surprised a few people, while some could relate to him somewhat. He was true, not doing all that he could given his potential. General Charlotte asked, “What do you intend to say, Sir?”
Shi Lang replied, “I would like to set up and train a special division, under my direct supervision. At the same time, I would like to focus on that team and carry out covert missions to deal with the obstacle in the dark. You all are more experienced in the terms of military and also know that arrows in the dark are hard to hide from.”
The generals nodded and Shi Lang continued, “I have decided that I will take a step back from the light of the first fleet. To be honest, I wanted to go back and work with secret divisions but an old man literally cheated me. I will be away from the front, but I will not be gone. The arrangements will follow as they were in the past. OB-One will be my correspondent. Do you agree to this proposal?”
A young general asked, “Sir, is it okay for us to discuss this among ourselves?”.
Shi Lang nodded and said, “That is the purpose of the council.”
The discussion began and it lasted for a couple of hours, in the end after a few minor adjustments, the proposal was passed ahead. The first fleet became an emergency response team, and if an abrupt war situation was to be detected, the first fleet will move to the post and support the other fleets.
This did not reduce the status of the first fleet at all but instead made it the most looked-up to team in the federal forces. Shi Lang decided to put forward the idea of his special division.
One, the special division will recruit soldiers from the Card Class.
Two, only ten members will be recruited to the team at a single time.
Three, they will not report to their former divisions or the card class, they will have permission to act independently.
Four, they will have permission to carry out research and develop their own weapons and technological equipment they need without the need to pass it on to the federation.
Five, they will camp in a secluded place of the space, and operate from there, to prevent any backtracking.
Six, only OB-One will be able to contact them through Shi Lang.
Seven, their level will be similar to the card class, and they will have access to classified data.
A few adjustments were made to this list of perks as well, but Shi Lang was not actually worried, the essence of the proposal did not change and he was happy. A young general raised his hand and said, “Godspeed Ace Division.”
The chant followed. The general council had blessed the special division and they wished to look forward to their growth and achievements. Soon, the parliament also passed the decision. The people could not believe the effectiveness of this proposal.
Shi Lang did not bother much and came to his home to check if he was fine. Shi Lang and his family had a leisurely time, before the young man said, “I will be leaving for a longer time.”
Luna sighed and said, “If only you could have stayed back home.”
Shi Lang smiled and after hugging his family, he left the place. He was going to look for Amelia and tell her the news. The girl had yet to pass the criteria to join the card class or she could have followed Shi Lang, but that day will come when it comes.
Amelia was very understanding of him, she knew the reason he stepped back was because of the attack, actually, she herself felt a need to become stronger so that she could accompany him, and that was why she encouraged herself to use the distance between them as a force to strive for unity.
Two days passed, and the people Shi Lang had picked up from the card class had all come back to the Federation.
Shi Lang dressed up in a black t-shirt with red streaks paired with blue jeans and black boots. The special division had a unique dressing code. He waved his hand to his mother and the other people before going out of the house. Amelia was waiting for him outside.
The two exchanged a hug and Shi Lang held her hand. The girl was going to see him off on the spaceport. They drove a car, that looked similar to Jaguar XK-e but it did not have wheels. This was a gift from Neomons. The original vehicle was destroyed in the attack.
Amelia drove and said, “I have a gift for you.”
Shi Lang asked with a faint smile, “What is it?”
Amelia said, “In the glove compartment.”
The young man eagerly opened the glove compartment and found a leather furnished box. He asked, “Is this it?”
Amelia nodded and said, “Go ahead, open it.”
Shi Lang did as so, and he was surprised, inside the box lay ten pins, all cut out in the shapes of a spade. The one in the center had silver edges and a crimson body, while the rest were only red. Shi Lang took out the pin and found that on the back of the pin was engraved, Ace Division, Alpha.
This was something similar to dog tags with call signs. Shi Lang said, “I like how you are so thoughtful. Thank you, I like this very much.”
Amelia nodded and asked, “Have you selected the location for the base?”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “I asked OB-One to send out probes to check a few things. He has turned in the report, I have a place in mind.”
Amelia did not ask him to clarify the details of the location, because he would not tell her. Amidst their small talk and reminders of being careful about things and a lot more, the couple reached the spaceport. The check was smooth. Shi Lang came to the hangar where the ten people were waiting for him.
Amelia had left him outside after kissing him and wishing him Godspeed.
…
Shi Lang stepped inside the hangar and saw ten people all doing their own stuff. Suddenly one of them saw Shi Lang and shouted, “Officer on site!”
Ten people flickered and appeared together. They stood in a clean queue, saluting Shi Lang. They were all wearing black masks, this was a command from Shi Lang to keep their identity hidden while they were still on the planet. The Card Class instructor X had been asked to seal their files and was not available for anyone below the president and himself to check on their details.
Shi Lang saluted them back and said, “You all are well aware of the reasons you are selected for this team. You are also aware of the duties this team will perform and also know how we will deal with things. Allow me to lay down some ground rules, no infighting, no backbiting, and no competing with each other for a better position in the team.
You all have your distinctive qualities and that is why you are selected. If I assign you as the point gunner, you will be the point gunner, I will not have someone come up and try to convince me otherwise. I am not unreasonable if you have a suggestion regarding a task, feel free to open and we will discuss it. Do you understand?”
The ten people nodded and said, “Understood, Sir.”
Shi Lang nodded, “Good, now Hawk and Sonic, please step forward.”
Two men stepped forward and Shi Lang said, “You two will go to the spaceport command center, and get the new vessel allocated to us dispatched. You can show this to the person in charge.”
The two people did not know why they were sent but they still did not show any doubt and left the hangar.