Minsk

Alright, I’ve lazed around enough. Wilhelm lifted himself off the stiff bed in his room on the transporter. Hunger had awoken him from his slumber, a rumbling stomach in its wake.

In the common room, Wilhelm sifted through a number of prepared meals in the refrigerator and found something that dissatisfied him within each. That said, he had never learned to cook, so he took the one that looked the most edible, threw it in the microwave, and took a plate of spaghetti and beef to a table, picking at the beef chunks with trepidation.

Shockingly, the meal tasted well enough that he began to scarf it down. The headmaster had always told them how the meals of her day were merely utilitarian: that one couldn’t expect pleasure in eating them. But apparently, science had found a way. Wilhelm thanked his luck to be born in this moment, just in time to experience this revolutionary breakthrough.

“Yeesh, Wil. You’re going to get sick if you eat that fast, you know?” Mathilde sat down across from Wilhelm, laughing at his sheer mirth. He ignored the reproach, hastily finished his meal, and downed the rest of his glass of water so that he could speak.

“The less time I’m eating, the more time I’ve got to waste before we get to Minsk.”

“Sure, if you don’t choke.” Mathilde’s leaned forward on the table with an easygoing smile.

“...You seem like you’re just fine. No nerves, Mathilde?”

“None. I’ve got a good feeling, you know?”

“It’s not based on anything?”

“Just my intuition. But hey,” she said, leaning in closer. Then, she pointed to Florent, sitting near the windowsill playing cards with Aurelia. “He seems to agree, right?”

Looking over at their comrade, Wilhelm couldn’t say he disagreed. He hadn’t seen Florent with a smile like that since before Damian’s death.

“Whatever you two said to him must’ve worked, huh? Florent probably just needed some time to… you know, recover from things.”

Then, Wilhelm’s pessimism emerged. “Or he’s hiding what he’s really thinking to keep up everybody else’s spirits.”

“...Maybe, yeah, but sometimes, that’s the first step. Telling the lie until it’s real.”

“You think that really works?”

“Sometimes,” Mathilde said, her smile fading slightly. “Anyway, you can quote me on it: we won’t need any heroics today, so don't do anything stupid, okay?”

“Have I ever?” Wilhelm asked. “…Don’t answer that, actually.”

Mathilde did not. Instead, her light smile turned into a deep, mocking grin.

____________________________________________________________________________

Damn, that girl’s a psychic. Wilhelm and the rest of Team A stood back and admired their work, a fallen squad of Soviet exosuits at their feet. The Federation captured Minsk, with little effort.

“It looks like they only supplied the city with a token force,” Rudolf said. “Our allies did most of the job for us… Honestly, I’m almost disappointed.”

“Same here,” Wilhelm said. “Any word from the captain yet on our next plans?”

“I haven’t heard anything, so we’ll hold our positions here and wait for further orders. For now, do you mind sending your squad to scout the area, Wilhelm?”

“Nah, sounds good to me,” Wilhelm said. “Levin, I’ll leave it to you.”

“As usual, right?” Levin asked. “I’ve got it under control. No worries.” Levin and the rest of Squad Azure dispersed, jumping atop nearby buildings in the industrial district that they had been tasked with. Factories lined the area, with grey smog pumping out of their smokestacks: the captain had said that they produced exosuits. Thus, an important target to secure.

“See? I told you that it would be easy, Wil.” Mathilde’s voice echoed in Wilhelm’s brain. “Now that I think about it, I should’ve made you bet on it.”

“No way I’d take one against you,” Wilhelm said. “May as well open my wallet.”

“Yeah, that’s the idea,” she said. “...Well, I hope Team B’s doing alright. No word still?”

“None. Captain’s silent.” Rudolf sat down, his heavy cybersuit folding awkwardly. “Well, no word is better than bad news, I guess. Not much we can do.”

A few minutes passed: Wilhelm busied himself practicing his swings and communicating with the rest of Squad Azure. All was clear. He had nothing to do, and he hated that more than having to fight. Damn, this is boring. Can’t something-

“Team A, captain speaking. I’ll make this short; Florent’s vanished. Since you’re all clear, sweep the area and see if you can find him. Now!”

Rudolf struggled but rose quickly. “S-Sir, what-”

“No questions, not right now. Get to work, Wilder.”

“...Yes, sir.” Rudolf motioned to Wilhelm and Mathilde. “Wilhelm, any reports from your squad?”

“None. Everything’s calm.”

“Then let’s split up. From what the captain said, this sounds time-sensitive; we’ll need all the eyes we can get, everywhere we can get them.”

“Got it. I’ll go this way… There might still be more enemies hiding, so keep an eye out, okay? We’re not done with the mission until everyone gets back safe.” Mathilde broke off, sending her squad in different directions to cover southeastern Minsk. Rudolf and his squad, then, went north. Wilhelm went to the southwest, calling back Levin and the others to follow suit.

Hours passed, and Florent still evaded their search. The sun had begun to set, and Wilhelm wondered how much longer they would be forced to search. Levin, and the others, began to whine, losing any hope of their success. As Wilhelm jumped from rooftop to rooftop, sweeping the same area for the thousandth time on his radar, he noticed a sudden signal. Each of the Cyberitters were connected: each could, under ordinary circumstances, be found. But until this moment, no one could locate Florent’s signal. But this... it's gotta be him!

Wilhelm leapt into action, informing the captain as he went. The captain warned him, but Wilhelm knew. If it’s a trap, I’m ready for it. The signal originated from another industrial district, abandoned and lifeless. What the hell was he doing here?

As his squad broke into the building, he saw Florent’s cybersuit. A vibrant orange, it stood out strongly from the dreary gray everywhere else. It clearly was on, but… No reaction. His squad opened the hatch in the back, with great difficulty, and what they found was… nothing. 

As Wilhelm looked over the scene one more time, he saw something in the corner of his eye. A chill shook his skin: by the cybersuit, a well-used pack of cards laid on the ground.

____________________________________________________________________________

At the emergency meeting held after, the captain’s temper flared and raged. With each detail, his anger came more and more to the fore. A dangerous timber accompanied his voice.

“...Wilhelm, those cards you reported, you’re sure they’re his?”

Huh? Obviously. “Yes, sir.”

“...And Aurelia. He told you he was… chasing some Soviet?”

Aurelia’s voice shook. “Y-Yeah. Said he saw someone and took off… And no one was ever gonna catch up to him, that's for sure. By the time I followed after him, he was long gone.”

“You didn’t check the damn signal?”

“Of course I did, after he went radio silent! I checked where it went dark, too, but nobody was there. I’m… I’m sorry, captain.”

Captain Joseph sighed. “Your mistake cost us an expensive pilot… And more, I’d bet. He’s gone dark, and that means one thing. The man defected.”

“Are we sure of that, sir?” Rudolf asked. “I mean, isn’t it too early to say-”

“No. From all the details, it’s clear. He shut off his machine, and somehow, it relocated to an entirely different part of the city. Then, it turned on again to throw us off Florent’s scent. That doesn’t happen by accident. Someone worked with him, and who else but the Soviets?”

“I… It’s logical, but…” Rudolf trailed off.

“But it hurts, right? I get it,” Mathilde said. “Still, we have to assume that it’s true, for now. That said… Why have us search blindly for him, captain? There must be a better way to do this.”

The captain’s eyes narrowed. “Because searching blind is all we have. Sure, it’s true that we’ve got a backup plan in case a pilot vanishes. Each of your chips emits a faint GPS signal. The problem? His went dark. That’s why I know for certain. He planned this, to the last detail.”

Silence spread over the room. They all knew now: this was no rescue mission.

The captain ignored their apprehension. “Regardless, there’s no point in you all searching now. I’ll put some other soldiers on the job, but I’d bet that he’s long gone… But his cybersuit isn’t. While we’re in Minsk, I’ll find and train a replacement Cyberitter. Might take a month, or a few. Either way, it’ll be worth the time: our next target won’t go down so easily.”

His hologram projector lit up, and the darkness they had all grown so accustomed to returned. That said, they all knew before the hologram surfaced exactly what destination awaited them.

“New Moscow’s the capital of West Russia, a key piece to the NSR’s war machine. We’re pulling out all the stops to take this one…” The captain stood, but then, he remembered something. "Right, you're all dismissed. Except for you, Wilhelm. We’ve got something to talk about."

What? Sounds annoying… “Yes, sir!” Wilhelm was ever the loyal soldier