Colonia Storm Tour

Before I could even see her reaction, I abruptly turned around and knelt on one knee to avoid any potential attacks from the Immortal Vanguard Assault Mechs that were rising again.

Neither Anfia nor Constantine stopped, continuously bombarding the fallen Immortal Vanguard Assault Mechs with rocket launchers and electromagnetic pulse grenades.

At this moment, another group of former DEM soldiers who had joined Omicron came to provide support. The corporal immediately stepped out from behind the lamppost where he was hiding and fired a rapid three-shot burst, taking down the former DEM soldiers.

I simply mounted the under-barrel grenade launcher, and with a thud like a canister, the grenade landed quickly, blowing those former DEM soldiers to smithereens.

Those former DEM soldiers all appeared to be dead, but given that the bastards of Omekiron had just massacred all her teammates, her actions were understandable.

The corporal put down her rifle and picked up the body of the soldier she had been carrying when I first met her: "Could you help me carry the other two?"

I squeezed the hand she offered. "Of course we can, this train will never leave anyone behind."

I waved to Constantine and pointed to a corpse in my line of sight. As he jogged over to collect the bodies, I found the last victim.

His body was mangled beyond recognition, looking like a balloon riddled with holes. Even so, I hoisted him onto my shoulder and turned to walk toward the truck.

When I got back, Katerina had already tossed her sidearm to Palmer, who dealt with a few overly curious former DEM soldiers while Amphia was reloading. Constantine then left the corpses to help me.

A few seconds later we were on our way, leaving the square. Constantine, the corporal, and I continued to check on the condition of our fallen comrades. The tattered tarpaulin draped over the back of the vehicle looked like a large blue flag. Constantine began examining the motionless soldiers, trying to find anyone who could still be revived.

Doing this job is basically destined to be futile, but wasn't our impromptu rescue operation the same way from the beginning?

Thanks.

The exhausted corporal said to me, wiping the blood from her helmet panel, "I owe you my life."

"Free service".

I replied that, whether she knew it or not, the Spearbreaker squad had received a great favor from her, and his comrades had paid the ultimate price for it.

I haven't seen her for years since then. Damn, I haven't even thought about her much. I've been busy enough with playing Omicron and training.

After returning to the Antarctic base via hyperspace teleportation upon the mission's completion, as expected, Yelena threatened to court-martial me for insubordination. The entire Spearbreaker squad was dragged into a conference room a world away from the battlefield the moment they arrived at the base, where they were subjected to scathing interrogation. Only when she was at her wit's end, unable to find any more words to describe how irresponsible my actions were, did I raise my hand to speak. She yelled at me, but still nodded, allowing me to speak.

"Although we are carrying out your orders, you are not my superior. We are obeying your orders out of courtesy. If you are not satisfied with my performance, I suggest you complain directly to my actual superior."

She glared at me, her gaze sharp enough to split a diamond in two. She knew my real boss was that little girl-like Lady Alice.

"I need to speak with you privately."

She didn't want to bring this up with Alice.

"There's no need for that."

I glanced at the others. Dmitry and Constantine were suppressing laughter, while Katerina and Anfia were rolling their eyes in exasperation.

"Team leader, you two continue to solve the problem; we don't need to hear about this part."

They said they were being sensible.

Yelena nodded gratefully to her. "The rest of you, disperse."

Constantine and Dmitry nearly tripped over each other as they rushed out of the meeting room, while Katerina and Anfia shook their heads and followed closely behind.

I slumped lazily in my chair, propping my feet up on the conference table in the middle of the room. Yelena was still glaring down at me, furious.

"Is it because of what happened between us? You're taking every opportunity to embarrass me because of that?"

I raised my hands: "I don't care about bringing up the so-called 'our business,' because you're the one who hasn't spoken to me for a whole year."

She avoided my gaze: "What you said might make sense."

"Look..."

I put my feet down and placed them against the table.

“The week I spent with you was the happiest of my life. It’s true, considering I’ve been fighting Omega-Jon the whole time, my standards are pretty low. But let’s be clear, whatever you mean by ‘us,’ my decision to go rescue G-6 has absolutely nothing to do with us.”

“Those two words are unimportant, utterly insignificant. Don’t laugh at me, but it feels like my heart has been stabbed. I can understand your motives, but you don’t know how reckless and absurd your actions are. Countless good people have already paid the ultimate price for the data chip you managed to salvage.”

She rubbed her head, her thoughts completely different from mine.

I took the chip out of the storage compartment and gently placed it on the table as if it were made of fiberglass. I pushed the chip across the smooth surface, and she scooped it up with her fingertips without touching mine at all.

“Sergei, if we have the chance to work together again, you must trust me. There are always some things I can’t tell you outright, and you don’t need to know those things, but you must believe that I will always put our interests first.”

"We? Who do you mean by 'we'?"

"foehn."

I gestured with my lip towards her and then nodded.

“I believe you are speaking from the heart, but that is also the problem. We do have a story, and if it were me, I would never say that it was based on mutual trust.”

She looked down at the data chip in her palm, then clenched her fist: "Even if you're right. Dismissed."

I remained silent after the conversation ended.

Everyone at headquarters in charge of the operation was severely punished. The reason was simple: the casualties did not meet the expected plan. This simple reason was deadly in Foehn. Soldiers' lives were not expendable resources to be squandered! Every single soldier was important!

Basically, everyone lost their officer's hats and was sent back to the grassroots level to retrain or relearn what foehn warfare was all about. The reason mentioned above is also why they were not sent to a military court but were executed on the spot.