The door hissed open, revealing to Adam, Victor, and Jimmy the spacious quarters of Colonel William Scott. Once a former Liberty officer and now one of the Order's tactical geniuses, William had been one of those who had put his signature on the order establishing the 34th Brigade. He was familiar with Adam and his record in the past and had no doubts about his men when they went on an expedition. You could say the very fact that the 34th Brigade was established is his fault.
If Adam is the “Father of the Brigade,” William - its creator. The one who started it all. The one who was always on the sidelines and, like a true commander in the structure of the Order, ran everything from the shadows. While others were gaining glory - he was watching, channeling energy as if thinking on a completely different level.
However...
Even William couldn't predict what would happen out there, 'on the other side'. The world beyond the Sirius Sector remains a mystery to this day. Very few people talk about those places, even fewer have returned alive from there. As if one vast abyss, the “beyond” still leaves a lot of questions in the scholarly circles of both ordinary people and the best of humanity's defenders. When the 34th Brigade finally returned home, William was one of the first, if not the very first, to try to find out as much as he could about what they had endured during that year.
And when he learned the casualty figures, he realized that Adam's next move would be to do everything he could to keep the unit from disbanding. Scott was already running through his mind the possible words in high places about the situation around the Brigade and all the various scenarios of what was in store for Adam and the few who were lucky enough to return. He decided to be proactive and called Adam in for a chat. The battleship Gothic was their meeting place: right in the Carthage shipyard, where the Hades was already located.
...
“Colonel, Captain Adam Helson, Aspirants Victor Bruno and Jimmy Manderson have arrived at your orders. Can we enter?”
“Yes, come in, have a seat.” William looked at all three of them. Dressed according to regulations and as if they had just graduated from Osborne Academy, you couldn't tell from them that they had returned from somewhere no one else had ever returned from. At first glance.
Once all three were seated in front of the Colonel, William saw the sorrow in Adam's eyes. For his missing comrades, for those who didn't make it to the end. But there was something else. He sensed anger in Adam's gaze. The anger that is inherent in a man who has been betrayed. Looking at Victor and Jimmy, he saw the same look. And he knew they hadn't been betrayed here.
They had been betrayed there, on the other side.
...
“Colonel, we've come here about a situation involving personnel...”
“...of 34th Brigade, I know. Sorry for interrupting, Adam”, - William gave a thoughtful look. - “I've already read the casualty reports. I can't get to the rest of the unit yet, as it's been classified even to our ranks. Have you signed the non-disclosure papers yet? Jimmy?”
Jimmy was like a son to William. A young member of the 34th Brigade, an up-and-coming bureaucrat from Ageira who'd been duped, who wouldn't accept the status quo and had gone Hacker. If Jimmy had been able to choose his words, he'd probably be among the wealthy upper class of the Republic and, by extension, all of Sirius by now.
Then Jimmy found himself in the Order. He was noticed by one of the agents, who felt that his skills would be useful to the organization. He was offered a reasonable fee for his services and appropriate silence. Manderson accepted. He served under William, essentially performing the same functions as he had in Ageira: bureaucracy. Still a Major then, Scott was one of those who could handle the young specialist's hot temper. And what's more, he was able to establish a friendly relationship with him. When the question of establishing the 34th Brigade came up, William recommended Jimmy. After all, he needed to grow up.
And now Colonel, William Scott didn't expect to be able to see Jimmy alive again. Manderson's gaze conveyed nothing but hatred. But he didn't hate his fellow soldiers for some stupid joke or careless word in his direction. He hated someone left out there.
“We signed everything, Maj- Colonel. The papers are only in the hands of Wedjat, and a couple or three scientists. Among them is Koji, but he's not with us now. He said he's leaving the Brigade.”
“May I ask why?”
“He said his head was now needed more on Akabat, among others. He hinted that he had some work there that he's been working on for a great many years now. Nothing more, sir.”
“So that's how it is... Well, papers, reports... That's all understandable. Keeping the 34th Brigade in line is going to be a very difficult task. Whereas before, Adam, you had men and a huge structure, now you have nothing. Hades is undergoing repairs, of the pilots, only Alfred is alive, while the rest are dead or missing there. According to all provisions of the charter, you simply cannot be left as a separate unit and it is easier to be assigned to an existing structure where you will continue to serve in accordance with your new assignments.”
...
“34th Brigade can't end up like this. 4 years of existence, an expedition, and at the end of it we get exactly nothing. Not even a chance to stay in service further, as a separate unit.”
William leaned closer.
“Adam, shall I enlighten you on the state of affairs in the Order? Human resources are not so plentiful that I or anyone else can find you men simply out of thin air. You're not in Liberty Navy, you're not in Her Majesty's Fleet, which you were in during the Gallic War. You know there was never a problem with people there and there. But the Order is a structure where literally “the chosen ones” get in, no matter how prejudiced it may sound to others.
Ships, yes, that's not hard. But not people. You've just returned from an expedition, having lost about several hundred of those “chosen ones”, which in itself is reason enough to launch a whole series of checks on whether you were operating in that space correctly. And, rest assured, Wedjat on it, if they haven't already.
Don't take my words as any dislike of you or the results of your work. First of all, I haven't finished my thought yet. Secondly, I myself don't want to lose you as a unit that I had a hand in creating. A unit that I've at times kept a greater eye on than my own.”
“And what are you proposing?”
“The brigade will become part of one of the Order's units. To make it easier for you to work in your specialty, I'm going to suggest you to the Eklpis Vanguard people. I'll pass the information on to Jimmy. Your transfer to another unit will buy you time until the higher-ups make a final decision. If you accept, there will be a question of what status to determine for you within Eclipse. If you refuse, then they will decide where you, Hades and all the others will go. And it will be decided that some will be sent to Section 8, some to Overwatch, and some to the Eclipses. The story of the 34th Brigade will be over.
That is, your fate will be determined for longer than it is now. But time is not on your side. It's in your best interest to find as many people as possible.”
“And then?”
“And then it's up to you, Adam. Either you're left with the Eclipses and you dissolve among them, or you make a request for the Brigade to be granted separate unit status. We'll play on the bureaucratic confusion and delay the inevitable. You'll have a few months. Keep that in mind. If you don't make it in time, the decision will be made for you.”
“Then that's what we'll do,” - Adam gave him a thoughtful look as well. If the life or death of the Brigade was going to be a matter of life or death through decisions like this, then so be it. They'd been through too much for it to end like this. - “No one has started discussing our status yet? Could it be too late to decide anything?”
“It's not too late, Adam. If it were late - I wouldn't have called you in for a chat. But you're here. And the boys are here. Not all of them, but you've come home. I'm not disappointed in you or the others. I know that throughout the expedition you did the right thing. Even if others think otherwise - I don't doubt you. I only want to help.”
...
“So, our plan is for us to transfer into the Eclipse Vanguard, after which we'll recruit people, and then request to become a separate unit?”
“Yes, it's exactly like that. Your history and past accomplishments will be taken into consideration. All you need are the men.”
A short pause. Silence. William felt a sense of satisfaction at what he'd offered Adam and at the fact that he'd agreed. A stratagem for the sake of a gamble where you literally have to outmaneuver everyone while outmaneuvering no one. Of course, the Order's commanders would immediately realize what Adam and William were up to, but they would probably turn a blind eye and silently give the Brigade a “second chance,” give them the time they needed. But it was better to be play it safe.
William took a piece of paper and wrote three words on it, then passed it into Adam's hands.
“What happened there?”
Adam pulled a pen from his breast pocket and wrote back. The paper returned to William's hands once more.
“It's hard to talk about.”
William looked at Adam understandingly and then began to write. There was something else, something he wanted to know. He wanted to know the secrets of their views.
“Who betrayed you?”
As soon as Adam took the note in his hands, Victor Bruno asked him to give it to him. He held it in his hands, moving his fingers slowly across the paper. His gaze was blank, as if he had not so much as experienced all that the others had experienced. He was a psychologist in the Brigade, though, and a psychologist in the Order was perhaps tantamount to the status of 'most impenetrable man alive'. But even in that hard stare, there was a hint of anger. And frustration. Annoyance at not being believed. And William may won't believe when he'll see the answer to his question.
They said goodbye to Scott and left after a couple minutes. William sat back in his chair, looking thoughtfully at the piece of paper and trying to remember the man's name. Something was getting in his way. He was tormented by the feeling that this man's name was like a word you had known throughout your life, but the moment you spoke it, it slipped out of your head and doesn't want to go back in.
