Hae-in Cha sat under a tree, on a small hill overlooking the base. It was her favorite spot in the entire facility…she came here often to enjoy the fresh air and beautiful spring sky. She looked at the base in amazement, in a very short amount of time it had been transformed from a military looking base to a housing project.
After the whole gate incident, the world put a lot of pressure on the International Hunters Association for full transparency on the "refugee crisis".
"Listen up people," said one news editor to his reporting staff, "from now on we are calling this a refugee crisis."
"But sir…they are not human…can we even call it that?" A staff reporter asked.
Grumbling loudly the editor shouted, "Just don't zoom in too closely…from a certain distance the refugees look exactly like humans! New policy! From now on we call them "refugees" and do not zoom in!"
"Umm…but is that ethical? It feels like we are pushing an agenda on our viewers…" another reported commented.
What came next was a series of curse words and profanity from the editor, after his tantrum…he collected himself and said, "our job is to sell stories…that is what we do…we sell the stories we uncover…and the 3 hottest selling stories are 1) crisis, 2) war, and 3) humanitarian issues…and if there are pretty girls involved even better!"
The chief editor had a real big crush on Gaia…like an angel descended from heaven taking the form of a woman…his heart throbbed with ecstasy.
Similar conversation happened all over the world behind closed doors in all the major media outlets. Soon the event was labeled as a "refugee crisis" or "humanitarian problem."
The International Hunters Association received so much pressure that they had little choice in the matter…they allowed supervised and scheduled media personnel to enter into the base and report to the world.
Within a week, the base expanded and installed temporary housing for the refugees. A school was constructed for the children along with a playground and a daycare centers aimed at helping the nursing mothers.
Press visits to the base occurred daily. The world became obsessed with the newcomers, especially the beautiful Gaia and her daughter Thalia. Social media became divided quickly over "team Gaia" vs "team Thalia"….online debates raged as to who was hotter.
Adam White and Jinchul Woo from the IHA along with Jong-In Choi, President of the South Korean Hunters Association were under microscopic scrutiny for any and all actions related to the refugee crisis. They asked Hae-in Cha to stay at the base and serve as the commanding officer on-site. She readily accepted.
The first order of business was the language barrier. The IHA contacted Jinho Yoo, CEO of Ahjin Soft, along with a team of leading world experts in Xeno-linguistics to develop a tool that would bridge the language gap.
Jinho Yoo arrived on-site the same day…Hae-in Cha escorted him to meet Thalia. Jinho was shocked to hear Thalia speak fluent Korean (thanks to the System). Jinho and his team quickly mapped out the refugee language and within a few days Ahjin Soft released a translation patch. Behind the scenes, he stopped all "non-essential" projects and personnel at Ahjin Soft and redirected all their effort to rolling out this emergency patch in record time.
Hae-in Cha smiled as she watched the refugee children playing and running through the playground. From a distance she saw the nursing mothers with their babies sitting on a bench enjoying the gentle breeze and sunlight…at all seemed so picturesque.
Memories of the time she spent with Sirka and the Ice Elves quickly flooded her mind. She smiled remembering caring for those forgotten children too. In the end, there are no winners in war…only losses Hae-in thought to herself.
The footsteps of a man interrupted her thoughts…she looked up and immediately recognized her unexpected visitor, Kihoon Son.
"Good morning ma'am, sorry to interrupt…I have orders." Kihoon Son handed Hae-in a sealed envelope.
Hae-in noticed the seal and easily identified its owner. She formed a brief smile and thought how old fashioned. She opened the letter and read its content:
"To Hunter Hae-in Cha,
Refugee applicant Thalia has been approved as a licensed hunter on a trial basis. She will be escorted by Hunter Kihoon Son on future missions deemed appropriate.
Jinchul Woo,
Vice-President of the International Hunters Association"
'What game are you playing at Jinchul?' Hae-in thought to herself.
She knew the man well…he was her husband's best friend and trusted partner. In addition, he had looked after and supported Suho from his early days as a hunter. She trusted the man…and she had no reason to doubt him now.
"Ok, I see…what good timing, you are in luck. There is a C-rank gate that opened yesterday. I was thinking of sending some new recruits as part of their training. This will be a safe and easy first-mission for Thalia." Hae-in said with a smile as she handed the letter back to Hunter Kihoon Son.
"I will oversee the preparations personally ma'am." Kihoon said with confidence.
Thalia
Licensed Hunter (provisional license)