“Before we begin.”
Neptune looked across the meeting room, facing Major Kingston almost dismissively.
Who do you think you are…to address me like this?!
There’s no way he could say that out loud.
“The Drazen Empire might not have launched its all-out assault on us, but that does not justify you taking your sweet time to complete it. That was what I thought until your commander informed everyone in attendance that it has been completed and functional for a while.”
A confident smirk bordering arrogance filled Neptune’s face. Without a care in the world, Neptune strutted toward the centre of the meeting room, where countless index fingers illuminated by the flickering light started mercilessly barraging him. Since his appointment as a researcher, where many voiced their displeasure over his lack of qualifications, he could feel the commanders’ collective spite and jealousy towards him. He thought these hurtful whispers would affect his psyche, but the wailings only he could hear made these human voices pale in comparison.
“Sir, you would be pleased with what I have to share.”
“This guy is full of it.”
“I can’t believe we have dedicated all our resources to his stupid experiments!”
“Enough, gentlemen. You are commissioned officers and hold respectable appointments within the task force and your respective service branches and formations. Need I remind you all to uphold professionalism and the standards of an officer? What is with your biased treatment toward ME4 Neptune Smith, who has received the blessings of the President himself to ensure the project comes to fruition?”
The Major shook his head like a father disappointed in his children.
“May I, Major Kingston?” A soldier carrying his olive green beret in hand asked respectfully.
“Carry on.”
“Major Kingston, I am Captain James Royce, the Officer Commanding of the SMIB (Strategic Missions Infantry Battalion). I want to know how Project Faceless will aid us in future combat missions. Surely, the South’s revolutionary army works with Newton Industries as the latter supplies them with warheads and advanced weaponry, as seen from the reconnaissance imagery. The headcount for combat-ready soldiers is abysmal; the graduating soldiers from the basic training would not fulfil our quota! Just look at the camps and the number of recruits marching about!”
“Point taken. Lieutenant Uroyles, take down what Captain Royce said.”
“Yes, sir.”
“But, sir–”
“If you want to voice your concerns, kindly schedule a meeting via Lieutenant Uroyles.” Major Kingston waved his hand to dismiss his subordinate’s plea for clarification. “We are running tight on time.”
Captain Royce kept mum and began talking displeasedly to the commander beside him. After the S3 entertained his commanders’ queries, they came down to one final person.
“Last one, before ME4 Smith continues.”
Stolen story; please report.
A hand rose within the dimly lit room for the last time. “Sir, may I?”
“Go ahead, Captain Jessory.”
“Major Kingston, sir, I’ll cut to the chase, as everyone knows who I am.’
“That’s Captain Satoshi Jessory?”
“Yes, that’s him.”
“Kindly remain silent and allow Captain Jessory to continue.” Lieutenant Uroyles attempted to sound scary but failed miserably. Nonetheless, it did the trick.
“Thank you, Lieutenant Uroyles,” Captain Jessory stood up at attention, “Sir, during our latest mission, I discovered an anomaly in the Atlantean Coil’s logs. The data feed had collected information exceeding our threshold amount and nearly disrupted our communications…”
Captain Jessory’s gaze became more intense, as though he was trying to hint at something sinister.
“I assumed it was a one-time thing where the recordings contained static, machine-like voices passing through the network. However, this was not the only time the recordings sounded odd. After digging through old recordings and listening to them with my signalers, we found the static had become progressively stronger since it started a year ago…”
The commanders looked nervously at one another, recalling the weird machine-like creaking. Amongst themselves, they started gossiping, rekindling the suspicions of the mechanical voices haunting the Atlantean Coil’s internal system…
“Several commanders sent enquiry requests to us if the Atlantea Coil had become bugged. After conducting extensive maintenance and system checks, sir, I do not think the fault lies with our system.” Captain Jessory gestured toward Boris. “That’s when my men carried out system log checks against the recent deployment dates, noticing the problems we faced only began surfacing after a certain date…”
Boris had a hunch Captain Jessory was referring to…that.
“The Lupus Squadron’s induction into our operations coincided with our feedback and bug reporting system receiving its first memos. Furthermore, we discovered that the Medical Corps was involved in some ‘cleanup’ unrelated to the objectives highlighted in the guidelines. Since you’re here, can you provide some clarification?”
“This doesn’t look good.”
“Interesting, these signallers don’t leave any issues unresolved.”
Boris felt the whole world against him as the noose around his neck started to tighten. If their acts become exposed here before they had the chance to tidy up their mess, this would be disastrous.
“Please redirect that query to me.” Neptune summoned everyone’s attention to him. “Dr Pavlov is not the right person to address these questions. He is a doctor, not a soldier like everyone else. Do not forget he is a stand-in for his commander and is unfit to answer operational queries.”
“It’s time we learn about these 'secretive’ methods of yours. Perfect, I heard the Central Atlantea campaign originated from a directive you informed the higher-ups about. I also need to know why the Lupus Squadron functions so oddly–no combatants except for a lone Squadron Commander–how is that even possible?” Captain Jessory challenged Neptune, eager to force the truth out of the Lupus Squadron’s operations.
“You aren’t ready for it.” Neptune closed his eyes and shrugged.
“Oh, on the contrary, everyone in this meeting deserves to know more about what goes on behind the scenes in your…how should I say–” Captain Jessory cast a dubious look at Neptune. “–experiments?”
“They’re not experiments; they are economic miracles.” Neptune stood his ground, fighting for the greatness of his innovative labour.
“Hurry up.” Ivan leaned back as he had witnessed this argument between inventors one too many times.
“I second ME6 Newton. Please cut to the chase.” The Major decreed.
“I’ll show you some footage of something that might pique your interest…” Neptune hid his smirk and snapped his fingers at Lieutenant Uroyles. “Ladies and gentlemen, let me present the fruits of our hard labour. From the bottom of my soul, I would like to thank every soldier, comrade, and believer in my ability to finalise the great work. Behold, Project Faceless.”
Like a maestro conducting a perfect symphony, Dionysus bowed to his captive audience, whose attention became enamoured by the last mission’s recording. He knew that after they witnessed the immense technological might unleashed upon those who challenged the Federation’s call for unity, the Federation would undisputedly bend the knee to everything he demanded henceforth.
