White Star of Aturan

VOL. 1, Ch. 7 - Trial by Fire

"The Casovyonians will pay dearly for their transgressions, President Gairis."

"Indeed, we have put this off for far, far too long. Casovyo will pay for opening that portal onto our lands to spy on us, as if stealing our Cintilden Lowlands wasn't enough now those wretched bastards want Taba'sra Valley too. Contingency Plan 'Huno' shall commence now; the portal in Taba'sra will be ours and Casovyo will break."

"What shall we do with the ambassador?"

"Keep him and his staffers confined within the embassy compound, we'll decide what to do with them later. Cintilden will be returned to us in due time and wherever in Casovyo that portal goes to will be under our rightful control."

---------------------

Belgian Camp, North of Maldegem
23/5/2035
5:32pm, GMT+1

---------------------

In the hectic site of the Belgian camp, Lieutenant-Colonel Jannes de Graaf stood by one of many a parked transport truck on his very short break. The air reeked of a faint mix of soil dust, grass, diesel, and the hanging feeling of close danger brought upon him by the comically large structure he was now assigned to worry about. Far to his left, logistical support worked day and night to facilitate the movement of every soldier and piece of equipment assigned to the site.

The venerable Jagers te Paard Battalion, which he held command over, had been summoned along with most of the Belgian Motorised Brigade. Yet, the Jagers te Paard was just one of the many other units present at the gate. Significant Belgian reinforcements had been dispatched to the site on day 0 by virtue of General Andries' orders in response to the unintended confirmation of potentially hostile forces beyond the gate. Graaf understood the severity of the risk, especially after their reconnaissance drone had been spotted and fired upon. In light of the compromised mission and confirmed risk just beyond the gate, NATO had firmly decided on intervention.

The NATO Very High Joint Readiness Task Force (VJTF) had been summoned to the site of the gate, now home to a garrison of about 25,000 troops with further forces still inbound from across Europe. Soldiers of noticeably different camouflage patterns and varying country identification patches descended upon the makeshift camp in an organised yet hasty flurry, turning the semi-urbanised countryside of the border region into an established militarised zone within the course of the last three days.

Residents in a 10 kilometre radius around the portal in Belgium and the neighbouring Netherlands were ushered out in hasty evacuation. Most had evacuated on their own modes of transport; others were brought out of the danger zone in commandeered buses or vans. Those who were left hospitalised under difficult conditions by the precursor storms found themselves stranded until the stretched-thin authorities could arrange for enough appropriate transport. Most Belgian evacuees were sent to Ghent and Bruges, while those on the Dutch side of the border were relocated to the harbour town of Breskens up north. The appearance of the gate triggered a national state of emergency across the Low Countries, sparking heated discussion nationwide over what should be done to the humongous structure.

Graaf had hoped the crisis would be over quickly so he could be back with his wife and children in his homebase of Heverlee, but deep down the lieutenant colonel also knew he would likely not be allowed back home until the pressing question of hostility beyond the gate was silenced. Nevertheless, he looked at the sky then turned down to the dirt, accepting that he had a task to do here to protect his country. As the 48-year old battalion commander conducted one last set of stretches to loosen his body, the sound of muddled shouting broke through the air.