Chapter 146: Crisis Unit (Part 1)
One hundred meters beneath the Hôtel des Invalides, hidden behind three levels of biometric security and reinforced alloy walls designed to withstand even category A dimensional assaults, the Operational Center for Interdimensional Threat Response (OCITR) buzzed with frantic activity. This bunker, built in utmost secrecy after the first breach of 2017, represented France’s ultimate strategic bulwark against disasters beyond human comprehension.
The main room, dubbed "the Hexagon" in reference to both its shape and the territory it was meant to protect, was dominated by a complex central holographic device projecting a real-time three-dimensional reconstruction of Paris. Around this representation, six sectorial command stations were methodically organized: Intelligence, Tactics, Logistics, Communications, Dimensional Analysis, and Hunter Coordination.
The atmosphere, usually controlled, now vibrated with electric tension. Wall screens continuously broadcast images from observation drones and still-operational surveillance cameras. Predictive algorithms displayed vertiginous escalation curves on lateral monitors, while operators, with pale faces but precise gestures, transmitted code sequences to field teams.
At the exact center of this setup, Adrien Valcourt observed the strategic map, his perfectly still body contrasting with the surrounding chaos. At fifty-six, the man embodied authority with an almost supernatural economy of movement. His graying hair, cut short to military standards, framed a face chiseled by decades of confrontations with the unspeakable. But it was especially his eyes polar blue, abnormally clear – that commanded attention. These eyes had stared unflinchingly at abominations from other worlds, and retained a particular gleam, recognizable among thousands by those who knew.
Adrien hadn’t been just a simple rank A hunter. For twenty-three years, he had led the legendary Lazarus Section, a specialized intervention unit for major dimensional incursions, before three broken ribs and prolonged exposure to the corrupted energies of the Lyon Breach forced him to accept this administrative position. National Coordinator of Dimensional Operations NCDO a title he had always regarded with a hint of bitter irony, until today.
Because today, for the first time since its creation in 2019, the Charlemagne protocol had been triggered.
- "Sir," came a clear voice to his right, "the new projections have just arrived."
Adrien turned his head slightly. Captain Léa Moreau stood beside him, tactical tablet in hand. At twenty-nine, the liaison officer was the living antithesis of the prejudices some veterans harbored about the new generation. Graduating with honors from the Advanced School of Dimensional Analysis, she had renounced prestigious research positions to join the operational unit. Her black bob-cut hair framed a face with fine but determined features, where shone a keen intelligence that even the obvious exhaustion of the last forty-eight hours couldn’t dull.
- "Present them, Captain," Valcourt ordered simply.