We're back together again

[34th Brigade]

How did they know? It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. The most important thing now is to get up to speed.

Waldemar climbed out of his Anubis cockpit and saw before him someone he hadn't seen in a long time. About six months, perhaps?

"Well bonjour, Otto." Ex-Lieutenant and now Commander of 41st Wing, Lucas du Richard looked at him. Something inside Waldemar began to clench. He hated this man, as he did a good portion of the Division. Their gazes met, and he realized the feeling was still mutual.

"William sent me to meet you and the rest of your wing. They need to proceed to the wardroom, and you're coming with me. Understood?"

"Ja, ja, sure." Waldemar ignored Lucas and walked over to those who had reached Delta. Two armed guards approached the group, and he told them where to take the 341st Wing members. They nodded silently and asked them to follow them.

Waldemar finally found the strength to look at Luke again. The man who had been his subordinate in the wing tacitly dubbed "Omicron-999" now occupied his post. So much had happened during this time... So much pain...

People say that scars heal and grudges are forgotten. That water flows under, and some pasts are easier to bury forever. But not in this case. When you're in the Order, you have no choice but to accept the harsh reality of life: there's no escaping your mistakes. Few managed to leave the organization without consequences. And those who didn't (and they were the majority) were forced to live with the knowledge that they would have to carry the burden of responsibility for their actions until their death.

It's hard to be "chosen one". And Waldemar was unique among the chosen ones. His mistakes led to enormous losses in combat operations. And many hated him for it. Some even wanted to kill him. And still do. Lucas was one of them.

People say that scars heal and grudges are forgotten. That water flows under, and some pasts are easier to bury forever. But not in this case.

"We need to go, Waldemar. William awaits."

...

William Scott and Adam Helson had it all planned out from the start. When the first evidence of Andry Scott's presence became tangible, it became clear to both of them that this entity wouldn't be stopped so easily. A being embodying absolute evil would seize upon any opportunity to eradicate the Brigade or subjugate it.

Koji Yasu was the impetus that pushed the Division and the Brigade into action. The scientist devised a simple ruse: to provoke hatred toward the Brigade. Specifically, toward the Brigade, so that Endry would take advantage of the situation and try to capture Hades. And he would clearly try. Just when...

...when the Order sent Adam to Akabat for a court-martial. Adam discussed this with William, and they decided to act, here and now. Delay was unacceptable. And while Waldemar was making a decision, while he was hesitating, the 34th Brigade was sending ships to the ongoing siege, but in reality, it was disappearing somewhere in Palau, secretly transferring forces to Gothica. One after another, the ships of the 34th Brigade formed up in formation with the flagship of the Second Void Division.

Waldemar Otto, suspicious of something amiss, ordered the 341st Wing to Delta, forgetting about Atum. The Tau Wing Commander seemed to be making another mistake, but his instincts were right.

They were waiting for them in Delta. Gothica was waiting for them. And when William saw familiar signatures and heard a familiar voice, it became clear to him that Waldemar had managed to break through the veil of uncertainty and come at the most necessary moment.

...

Waldemar walked alongside Lucas. There was a bustle all around. Among the people, he spotted insignia of both the Second Division and the 34th Brigade, particularly the infantry. The only infantryman he'd spoken to was Aspirant Jimm Nimes. Waldemar wondered where he was now. Had the entire Brigade really moved to Gothica? It all seemed a bit... Weird.

It didn't matter, though. He'd clearly learn more on the bridge than he did now. Opening the doors, Lucas quickened his pace and found himself ahead of Waldemar, approaching the First Officer, Major Matthew Howard.

"Major, Commander of 341st Wing of 34th Brigade, Waldemar Otto, has been arrived by your order." Lucas reported, gave a military salute.

"Yes, I see. Greetings, Waldemar." Matthew turned to him and extended his hand. Waldemar shook it. He remembered him, too. But only in fragments, since his work prevented him from seeing him often. But Matthew... Wonder if he remembers him? "How's Atum?"

"Not in the best condition, sir." Waldemar answered. "Gothica got Brigade internal communications under it's control, ja?"

"Yes, that's true. I think you figured it out yourself when you got close enough. You arrived just in time, in any case. Is everyone of your Wing here?"

"One was left behind. She is not one of ours-"

"Ah, Andrea, right? She informed us about your arrival."

Waldemar tried not to show it, but his surprise was evident on his face. He smiled slightly, betraying his feelings to Matthew. And yet, he couldn't shake the thought that Andrea had simply betrayed him and all those who had dared to venture into the Delta.

"None of this matters now, Waldemar. We have a meeting in ten minutes. Let's go."

...

Alfred, Koji, and Kunrad had been in the briefing room for half an hour now. They had arrived on Gothica first, just as things were reaching their climax. Gradually, the battleship and its patrol group began to gather more escort ships, as well as new faces.

The door hissed open. Entering the room was none other than Waldemar Otto, accompanied by Lucas and Matthew.

"Mein God, Waldemar!"

"Alfred!"

Alfred jumped off his chair and walked quickly toward him. They shook hands and hugged, delighted at the long-awaited meeting. "How glad I am to see you!"

Koji adjusted his glasses, smiled, and followed literally the same steps as Alfred. Waldemar reciprocated. Kunrad approached silently and extended his hand. They didn't know each other. They'd never even met in person.

"So... You command the 341st Wing?"

"And you command the 411th, ja?"

"That's right, yes. Kunrad Amhrad."

"Waldemar Otto." - They shook hands, effectively representing two fundamentally opposed factions of the Order. One was a product of eternal war, the other a valuable asset to any intelligence agency in the Sirius sector.

"Are you all here? How was your trip?"

"We expected more from our enemies, whoever they were. How are you?"

"Apart from the bitter experience with Andry Scott, everything is fine."

"Have you seen him too?" Without waiting for an answer, Waldemar continued: "I never got the chance. Except that Andrea got hit by his blow, but I think you know that without me."

"I was probably the first one to know too much when the first signs appeared."

Members of the 341st Wing entered the room. Those who knew Alfred and Koji exchanged warm greetings. They all looked excited. The risky mission had been successful so far. At least everyone was safe and sound. Members of the 351st Wing followed them. Lex Hale, seeing Alfred, the man who had sent him on his first real mission in the Order, walked quickly up to him and hugged him tightly. He hadn't seen him in a long time. The experienced lieutenant also shook hands with his comrade Kunrad Amhrad, with whom he had also gone on his first missions when they were both Ensigns.

"Alfred! I hear your voice and your friend from the hallway!"

"No way. Even him is here?"

He walked into the briefing room. Aspirant Jimm Nimes. He spread his arms wide and uttered his signature phrase.

"What are you standing there for?! Applaud!"

"It's been a long time since I've seen you, my old friend." Koji said.

"Aaah, damn, I haven't seen you in a long time! Well, hello!" Jimm extended his hand to Koji and shook it firmly, then hugged him. "Alfred, Waldemar, Kunrad, the whole Brigade is here!"

"How did you get to Gothica? You're supposed to be on Hades, no?"

"If I told you, you definitely wouldn't believe me. That deserves a whole other story." He looked back at Matthew and then continued: "Let's talk about it some other time, okay?"

Matthew and Lucas merely observed the long-awaited meeting between the Brigade veterans and those they had once sent on their first flights, explaining to them the intricacies of service in the Order. They exchanged a few words, and then Lucas headed to his seat. Matthew walked up to the podium where the microphone stood and tapped it with his finger. Everyone suddenly fell silent.

"Take your seats as quickly as possible. The commander will be here any minute."

As soon as everyone took their seats, suddenly that same figure appeared in the doorway.

"Attention!"

...

They say that in ancient times, human states were governed by the law of the strongest. Many rulers rose to power by overpowering their opponents and taking their place. Whether this is true or not remains a mystery. But sometimes, that's exactly what people thought of William Scott and the Second Division. Because Colonel William Scott made it clear by his very appearance that he could defeat anyone in hand-to-hand combat with just one blow.

A golem. A giant. Two meters and five centimeters of pure muscle mass created the image of a dunce, predicted for service in the infantry even back when he joined the Liberty fleet. No one believed that the West Point Academy cadet could succeed because his physique suggested otherwise. Despite everything... He was very smart. And when a strong and wise intellect and a powerful body combine in one person, the result is an exceptional individual. A one-in-a-million chance. But William was one of those who lived up to the expectations of everyone who ever put their trust in him during his entire service.

He joined the Order for ideological reasons. Behind a man of such stature lay an equally great idea. He grew up in a family whose lineage traced back to the first settlers of Manhattan. They were scientists and inventors who dreamed of making the world a better place. They dreamed of escaping the past and demonstrating in practice that man is destined for greater things. He served the Liberty Fleet faithfully, believing that the Republic had inadvertently strayed from its path of creation. He had every reason to believe that the idea of ​​a better future had vanished into oblivion only because the Liberty people, like the peoples of the other Houses that fled Sol, had become lost in their own strife and discord.

He believed that someone had to try to fix everything and put the world back together. But when he learned of the Nomad threat, he realized that someone had to shed blood so that lost human souls could continue searching for themselves while remaining alive. Someone had to sacrifice themselves on the altar of the idea of ​​a greater humanity. And when fate brought him together with the Second Division, he realized that the only ones who could be a beacon for humanity in such difficult times were the Order.

People will die. Wars will happen. But if this is the price of the future, then so be it. Only the strong-willed can dare to make such a brutal choice among all the alternatives. By making his own choice, William became a cold-blooded commander, capable of leading his people. He had to give up much and sacrifice much to get to where he is now, but he does not regret his choice.

But now... Now all his work and the work of previous generations could turn to dust if the monster from the Abyss, Andry Scott, triumphs. He won't let that happen. Even if the Division and the Brigade are declared enemies of humanity, he will be present when Andry is executed in front of everyone else. Those who came before him, those who stood at the origins of the Order and the Division, would surely now agree with him and his thoughts. But in the Order, only a few survive to age 60. Is it worth talking about the mortality rate among those around 30? In whole Division currently consists of only three people who witnessed the assault on the Dyson Sphere with their own eyes and were able to continue serving after all the subsequent events. And survive.

It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. The most important thing now is to get up to speed.

Having received all the documents from Matthew, William stood at the podium, checked the microphone, and glanced around at everyone present. He knew his men, but he didn't know anyone from the Brigade except Alfred, Koji, Jimm and... Waldemar. Their gazes met. William sighed and began his speech.

"Good morning. For those who don't know me, I am Colonel William Scott, serving as commander of the Second Void Division.

For ten years now, I've served faithfully and loyally all of humanity, having also had a hand in several things within the Order, particularly the creation of the 34th Brigade. Although Helson is its commander, it was I who laid the foundation.

As you may notice, Captain Adam Helson and Aspirant Jimmy Manderson are not present here. I'm informing the new arrivals of the 341st Wing that the aforementioned individuals are currently aboard the cruiser Hades, which is about to depart Dabadoru Station for a court martial on the planet Akabat.

We have previously noticed suspicious movements of large groups of infected. We have every reason to believe that an infected individual named Andri Scott intends to storm the cruiser, kill Adam Helson, and take control of the 34th Brigade, using its knowledge and skills against the Order and humanity.

Our task is to prevent this. Let's move on to the details of the operation."

...

"This image refers to the events of October of this year. On October 19th, our allies in the Bundschuh sent us a message about a meeting with a suspicious group claiming to be the 341st Tau Wing, which had attacked them in Sigma-15. The identity of the ship's pilot was not specified, and the black box containing the communications was not provided. However, we have every reason to believe that if Andry Scott has decided to restore the 341st Wing's "former glory," the pilot of this vessel must be Clotilde Sorg, former Commandant of the 34th Brigade, who died in an accident during the Expedition.

Another situation. Lieutenant Andrea d'Arce experiences an encounter with Andry Scott in the Coronado system on September 28th of that year, leading to conflict within the Order cell known as Section 8. According to our information, Commander Waldemar Otto briefed the agent, codenamed "Emissary," on the ongoing events. However, we have every reason to believe that Section 8 likely filed a report of the events on their internal communications channels (//hyperlink for ease of reference; we are not metagaming).

On September 29, Koji Yasu experiences an encounter with Andry Scott at the Barrier Gate in the Coronado system, just a day after the aforementioned incident. Previously, the crew of the cruiser "Hades" and Commander Kunrad Amhrad experienced similar cases of hallucinations and psychosis.

This information was relayed to me personally by Captain Adam Helson, along with a subsequent request for assistance from the Second Division, as well as Koji Yasu's suggestion on how to provoke our common enemy into taking decisive action. Increased infested activity in the Omicron Delta system also played a role in our agreement to provide support.

On December 3rd, we deployed a limited contingent of ships into the system to conduct a military operation in the Palau Cloud, creating a visible window for an attack by Andry Scott and heightening suspicions regarding the 34th Brigade. As many of you here know, during this operation, a significant contingent of the 34th Brigade was transferred to the battleship "Gothica", which was officially considered a "M.I.A." status, raising suspicions to the highest level.

On December 17th, we received word that Adam Helson and Jimmy Manderson had been taken into custody and were preparing to depart with the cruiser Hades tomorrow, December 21st, 835 A.S., bound for Planet Akabat for a court martial and to determine the true motives behind their actions.

So, we're counting on our opponent raiding the cruiser as it enters the Tokelau Cloud, with only one goal: to destroy the convoy and capture Adam Helson and Jimmy Manderson alive. Our objective is to provide direct support to the convoy forces and destroy the attacking force.

Our main target is Andry Scott. We must destroy it to kill the rest. And now I'll touch on the following: the possible scenarios under which things could unfold."

...

"Since the defenders will include not only the convoy ships but also our "surprise" reinforcements, including ships from the 341st Wing, our complicity with the Brigade in this delicate matter will only be confirmed. We have no right to lose, otherwise the days of everyone present will be numbered. We're taking a great risk, essentially flipping a coin."

...

"The first scenario assumes our unconditional victory and the provision of all evidence, including Andry Scott's body, as well as confirmation of our complicity with the Brigade. However, we will state our motives and justify all previous actions, and we will seek justification for our maneuvers.

Thus, we will destroy our common enemy, save the Brigade, and restore its goodwill, if not among the other inhabitants of Omicron and the Sirius sector, then certainly among its colleagues in the Order."

---

"The second scenario is our simultaneous victory and defeat. We hope this won't happen. In this scenario, our enemies will lose the battle, but we will not receive proper vindication within the Order and will still be considered traitors. This will lead to persecution by other agents and, in effect, the Division's withdrawal from the Order.

You can consider this a betrayal of the Order's organization, but not its ideals and the ideals of protecting humanity as a whole. In this scenario, we will make an emergency transfer of forces to Ithaca Station in the Omega-7 system, after which we will gather the remaining forces and advance to the Cologne system, to the Heisenberg base, where we hope to establish contact with the Galliс government and request their assistance. However, we don't expect a warm welcome, and we will likely have to work very hard in the coming months, if not years, to survive.

I think you understand perfectly well that even if you wanted to leave the Division or the Brigade right now, you would hardly be welcomed with open arms in the Order, and we would also hardly be able to provide you with support. However, I can assure you that if the higher ranks of the Order try to turn the current events against us, then we will clearly not sit idly by and we will clearly not try to surrender."

---

"The third scenario. The worst possible scenario. Our enemies win. The Brigade falls under the control of the infected. In this case, the Gothic will immediately engage and destroy the cruiser Hades, depriving the infected of a valuable asset. The ships of the Second Division will immediately receive the signal to attack, and regardless of whether you are truly infected or not, we will do everything possible to ensure that no one from the 34th Brigade leaves Tokelau alive. Those who remain on the Gothica will be executed on the spot.

This will also result in us absolving ourselves of responsibility and, essentially, remaining innocent of this incident. Officially, all your infestations will be directly linked to the Expedition. And believe me, the Division will do everything to eliminate everyone who claims to be part of the 34th Brigade. No exceptions."

...

"As you can imagine, this operation is a one-way ticket two times out of three. And only one case, in the most ideal scenario, promises us complete victory on all fronts. We're not expecting a walk in the park. As before, as now, as always, we're preparing for the worst-case scenario..."

...

For the next three hours, William Scott and the others considered tactics and advantageous positions for attack, as the time and location depended on the signal from the convoy. Orders were also issued that members of the 34th Brigade who did not take part in the operation would be kept under arrest on Gothica until the end of the conflict.

When the briefing concluded, William Scott ordered a rest area for all 34th Brigade personnel. As evening approached, everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Waldemar and the 341st Wing were assigned their own cabin. Usually, they would all be deep in conversation, but now everyone was thinking about what would happen next. Tomorrow would bring much. Both good and bad.

The door hissed open. Lucas peered into the room. Meeting Waldemar's eyes, he said:

"Waldemar, can we step outside for a few minutes? We need to talk."

...

They walked slowly and silently down the corridor. Silence reigned in Gothica. Everything they needed to talk about, they had already talked about. There was still one unresolved problem. For Lucas. At least, it only became a problem now. He realized something important. And he wanted to talk about it with Waldemar.

When they reached the smoking room, they found it empty. Sitting down opposite each other, they each took out a cigarette and lit it. Waldemar was silent. He didn't want to talk to Lucas. He hated him. Rolling the cigarette in his hands, Lucas began a thoughtful speech.

"A day. We have exactly one day for everything." He glanced around the room. He felt a breeze of memories of the past, of how it was here, about a year ago, that he met Waldemar, who was then his first commander. "Here it is. The moment of truth. The starting point. Wasn't this where we started?"

"Do you want to say anything last?"

"Maybe you?" Waldemar shook his head. Lucas sighed. "Listen, Valdemar. I... Uh... I'm sorry it happened. I really am. Only when you left did I realize they'd put me in your place. Omicron-999 became my unit, and I felt the full weight you carried.

I mean... Look... What you did, the way you commanded, the way you managed to inspire us in the worst possible situations... No one I can remember can do that. You managed to get an entire wing out of Coronado and back to Delta intact, disobeying everything and risking your life and the lives of those who follow you.

But they followed you. I'm not asking you to forgive me. I know I said a lot that day, and you clearly still hate me, as does almost the entire Division. But tomorrow's operation will be a fateful moment for us all.

I just wanted to vent. I've been thinking about all this for a long time and haven't had the courage to contact you, but when I saw you face to face today, I suddenly realized I'm a fucking asshole, Otto. I'm just an asshole. Like so many of those who underestimate you.

Just know that tomorrow, December 21st, we will follow you. I will follow. Until the very end. Let this fight settle the matter of what they think of you. We must descend upon the infected with a firestorm and punish them for their actions.

Let your fiery sword rise above our enemies and deal them the decisive blow."