October 8th, 2026. 11:02. 

As the sun shines upon the FOB, the chatter remains as normal as it can be, with each soldier going with their routine patrol in the hallways with their M4 rifles as usual, reporters delivering an interview to certain officers in regards to the war effort and the treatment of soldiers currently in medbay and so forth, all as the days pass by as each soldier yearns for the one wish that could soothe their minds, a liberation of one of the finest cities in the country. 

But while others savor that opportunity by engaging in the most brutal combats ever known, others feel the need to remain quiet and observant, ready to find the exact moment to snatch the momentum seized by the enemy. And once they twist and reshape that very momentum into one that could favor the other side, then it plays another angle in delivering a message to the enemy, that no matter what they do, they'll always find a way to strike them back whatever means necessary in the war. 

In a room slightly darkened with curtains near the windows, Rian conducts his routine as attempts some push-ups in the corner of the room, each pushup followed by a deep breath as he inhales the clean scent in the room, which allows him to keep the indoor exercise at ease. After pushing his thirtieth one, he gets up and moves near his bed where he starts some sit-ups, grunting for a bit as his muscles strain from each sit-up. Once more, once he goes for his thirtieth he stops while taking one more deep breath and a sip of a brown-colored beer near the table. 

He grabs his phone and checks the time.  Three minutes past eleven in the morning, and then checks the timer, going around for half an hour and counting. With one smirk, he pushes the button on the screen, which makes the timer stop. Such is a good routine to spend time with, all while he's away waiting for new orders to receive, even if it wasn't a long while since helping take down Manta in the Pacific Ocean. She was now sleeping with the fish, but there are still two more obstacles to take care of. 

Man, at this rate, I'd be lucky that I would get a car and some house. I don't care how big or small, just one where me and Maymay can live as comfy as ever... Rian sighs as he looks at a photo of Maya with other children in the camp, all smiling as they can while she prepared some plastic boxes with the labels of "fruits" and "carrots". It's been a very long time now ever since he got dragged into the armed forces, to fight for a thankless job, yet for him, it's the only way to make sure she's safe. 

But just as he tried to swipe the screen on the right, two knocks are heard on the door, which makes Rian sigh for a bit as he remains seated on his bed. It's moments like this that he would like to have at least one day without some meeting of sorts that relates to him and the others' perception of him. At least not like this. 

"Hey, Rian, you're awake?" a male voice says on the other side of the door, one with a youthful tone to it and with a sign of composure too. 

"Yeah, what do you want?" Rian asks without glancing at the door, mainly staring at the table for a bit. 

"Well, would you kindly if you open it so we can talk properly?" Rian can only groan in response as he gets up from bed and heads to the door. Opening the doorknob and pulling it away, he gets to see the visitor being a dark-skinned man with thick glasses, buzzcut black hair and a simple green shirt while wearing some equally green pants reserved for these kinds of soldiers.  His expression is as normal as he can get aside from the widened eyes. 

"Alright, what's the deal with me, then?" Rian asks as he crosses his arms. 

"Well, Colonel Sylvester wants a meeting with you in his office." 

"Oh, now that old asshole wants to meet with me, a good-for-nothing dirt poor refugee? Gee, could it be a pay raise?" Rian scoffs as he glanced away from the soldier, still crossed arms and furrowed expression. The dark-skinned soldier, however, didn't seem fazed as he merely scratched his forehead. 

"Actually, he wants to talk about a bit of what happened yesterday between Logan and Walter, and maybe to know you more for a bit. He seems that he wants to sort things out with you, especially ever since he handpicked you to live here." 

"Well, if he insists that badly, then I'll gladly go, but one thing is for certain, what I'll tell him would stick, and no amount of sermons and guilt-tripping will turn me over, got it?" The soldier only nods rapidly, if only because it's what could cut the chase in this conversation, given the kind of man Rian is to others unknown to him. 

"Alright, gonna give you twenty minutes for the appointment. And good luck!" the dark-skinned soldier says as he marches away from Rian's room on the left, now heading to somewhere else he can go and be at peace from any burdening duty. 

"Yeah, good luck for him," Rian mutters as he nods, probably in anticipation of what's to come in the upcoming meeting. 

20 minutes later. 

Rian walks across the hallway, with hands in his pants pockets with an everlasting frown that's stuck in his face he walks. The hallway is nearly empty aside from the two armed guards in the position of the door leading to Sly's office. It looks like it's the right chance to be there. 

"Are you Rian Aguila?" the light-skinned soldier on the left asks Rian as he glances at him. 

"Well, since there is no one else in here, take a wild guess," Rian says while keeping his posture and expression to the guards, who only glance at each other as the one on the left merely nods while pressing a button near the wall, one connected to Sly's office inside. 

"Colonel Sly, he's right here," the guard says. 

"Excellent then," Sly says as a beeping sound is heard, where the door's light goes from red to green, with the guard on the right opening it with a pull near to him. The guard nods at him to enter, which Rian does without any further comment as the guard closes the door once more, with a locking sound heard as the light goes back to red once more. After a brief pause, the light-skinned soldier turns to the tanned-skinned soldier with thin eyes. 

"Think he's gonna make it that far? It's gonna be just one more day left, I think," the guard says. 

"You know him, he always makes it out even when being chewed out by any bastard," the other guard says while chuckling as well. 

Inside the room, where Rian glances at every corner full of photos in either black and white and full color, as well as a wall covered by a handful of medals like the Silver Star, the Distinguished Service Cross, and most importantly, the Medal of Honor, all befitting for a man who fought for his own country for many years, no matter the terrain or conflict in his stead, alongside a wooden M14 rifle hanging on a wall, likely a relic for his training days back in the army or so. 

In front of Rian is the one and only Colonel Sylvester, who remains in his seat with the cane near a box, looking with crossed fingers with a firm stare on Rian as he slowly takes a seat in front of him, to which he reciprocates as well. 

"Mr. Rian, you surely arrived as expected, I must be impressed by such punctuality of yours," Sly says while keeping the same posture except by raising one eyebrow of his, almost as if he's anticipating something else coming from Rian in a state like this. 

"Well, can't miss every beat of a job as they say, Mr. Walker," Rian says as he relaxes his posture in the seat, looking almost slumped while keeping the narrowed eye gaze on Sly. 

"Certainly you do so," Sly replies, to which Rian grunts for a bit. "You might be wondering why you were summoned today at this hour. Can you guess why?" 

"Cut to the chase, I know it's all about that asshole Walter and how he and Logan used me as a measuring stick for their petty complexes. What else can you offer the matter, oh so-called heroic colonel of the Army?" Rian says as he scoffs, certainly in the mood for someone who tries to play up the anticipation in regard to topics like this one. 

"Well, it also concerns regard to a previous incident you had with Logan, namely when you mentioned one of the matters that had to be covered in private for moral reasons." 

"Oh, like locking up Amira again even though she saved you all? Give me a fucking break, I ain't listening to the words of glory hounds like you." Sly then releases his tightened fingers as he holds to the desk in front of him, a sigh escapes from him as well. 

"You should know things aren't always as simple as you think. One always has to carry each part of the group to the very end and then tighten their integrity from within without compromising the rest. This includes protecting each other when deployed to certain battles, but sometimes, it doesn't work quite well." 

"'Quite well?' 'Quite well!?' Well, surely that one training from her didn't end quite well as expected. Can you be serious for once?!" Rian says as he clenches his fists while giving a scowl that would pierce the sight of many as well as a sharp tone in the response. Sly, however, remains unfazed by this. 

"I am serious, Rian. And I say this as someone who witnessed and experienced similar crap in my life and my family's too. Most of it was necessary to protect our nation." 

"What, you mean wanting to honor your grandpa from Germany and your dad from Vietnam?" This question only makes Sly close his eyes for a bit, rubbing the center of his nose for a bit as he lets out a sigh, in which he then gets up as he reaches for the aisle full of photos, especially one in black and white showing a group of soldiers smiling in a forest. At the same time, he taps into a portrait of a bearded man wearing a blue outfit and his musket, one that was commonly seen back during the American Civil War. 

"Everyone comes to any place for a reason. Could be money, for fame, to get kicks in exploiting new land, or even just wanting to start all over again. When it comes to deciding which one our ancestors picked, mine certainly picked the last option. And if that option was faced with the reality of having to shed blood, then it had to be done. When my ancestors started fighting all redcoats they could find and defeat them by any means necessary, it was when we know that our path has been chosen, which is both a blessing... And a curse." Sly then slightly walks over to the next set of photos as he holds his hip, still reeling from the pressure of the attack from last time, all while Rian still looks with his furrowed brows. 

"From there, we were a family where we stood out in many ways, and sometimes, ones that could have gotten you lynched or even shot back then. After serving alongside some foreigners from many countries, even the slavers, we determined that anyone who fights for their country, is worthy of respect and even admiration, no matter the background. This carried over during the Civil War, the war in Cuba, then near Mexico, as well as Germany, Spain, the Pacific, North Africa, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Iraq, you name it. But not all of our deployments were always lucky." 

"Lucky in what sense, oh Colonel Sly?" Rian says as tension is noticeable in his face, still clenching his fists with his head tilted forward. 

"It's like I said. Some tried to follow our own code and either got shamed or even killed, even when doing the right thing. And once my brother died in Afghanistan for trying to expose a massacre by the troops. I swore to myself that unless it's safe, I must let the flow of events go in its own way instead of interfering, otherwise, only more burden would land on our feet if we tried to intervene even more." 

"So... Just for that is why you keep Walter and his lackey around? Because I heard he did something not so pretty. I think it was... killing his own CO for disrespecting his sexuality or something?" Sly only nods in response as he returns to his seat, adjusting it accordingly as he keeps his posture in check from Rian whose tone is rising almost every time. 

"Well, not always, I could deal with any sort of problem if it jeopardizes the integrity of a team, especially if it comes for a mere skin tone. Or in this case, another species." 

"Then maybe you should've done at least something to that bitch-ass Walter and his little skank friend when they hazed and abused her? Instead of, y'know, letting all that shit slide, on top of locking Amira up a second time?!" Rian says as he slams his fists on the table, which makes Sly flinch for a bit, as well as widening his eyes as he clenches his teeth while Sly raises his hand. 

"Now now, Rian, I know you're upset about what happened, but trust me, that wasn't compared to how Logan reacted back then." 

"Oh, and even if you wanted to keep him for combat purposes, why not try to at least deprive him of his precious activities and such?! Huh?! Because that at least would fucking teach him for his abuse!" Rian says, his cold eyes protruding while baring his teeth in front of her. Sly is silent for a moment, having not anticipated this sort of response from Rian. He could get heated before, but this may be a close call as well. 

"Understand this, Rian. When it comes to forces our beliefs, drastic measures need to be chosen in other to find ways to prevail against all odds, even if it means making others uneasy with the reputation and actions of others. It had to be done before even if we don't like it, and this isn't different." Rian only reacts with a groan as he rolls his eyes as he stands up in front of Sly while keeping his fists on the table. 

"All this bullshit makes me believe that you're nothing but a fraud. A con artist who cares more about his reputation than his people. Perhaps even your parents rotting in hell see you as a fucking disappointment. You make me sick." Sly's eyes widen in response to this. He heard of Rian throwing accusations like that before, but never of this sort of magnitude compared to what he heard between him and Logan. 

"Rian... You do not know a single thing about me. Or how war works. It is never that simple. It's not like we have to rely on the EW to replace the entire forces in this war, it's not that practical, and you know that." 

"And since when did I say that those four have to handle everything? I'm talking about you and your bumbling ass, and how your incompetence is slowly becoming the cancer that will get us all killed someday, you senile old fuck!" With this, Rian grabs Sly's collar and drags him close to his face, already breathing heavily with eyes wide enough to show the whites, while holding his elbows wide from his body, enough to shake in response from the pressure filling up inside of Rian from everything he hears from Sly. 

Unknown to Rian, Sly presses a button hidden in his desk, which prompts the door open, and the two guards outside storm inside and notice the altercation between Rian and Sly. Both grab Rian by his shoulders, dragging him away as he tries to no avail to free himself from the grip of the two guards as he tries a way to elbow them in their stomachs or so. 

"Mark my words, you will get us all killed! You hear me?! All of us will die because of you!" Rian shouts as he is dragged away from the room, with one guard forcing the door shut as the muffled shouts of Rian are heard outside, in which he later manages to sit down while trembling for a bit. 

But despite managing to shake him off from his wrath, Sly then covers his face with his hands, all with quaking shoulders as some faint breathing is heard from his muffled face. 

Maybe, for everything Rian said to him, there could be a kernel of truth in him. Something he would have to face anytime before it's too late.