October 3, 2053 – 8:45 a.m.

"When a certain number of living beings gather together, they instinctively place themselves under the authority of a leader whom they recognize as their guide. The crowd is a flock that cannot do without a guide."

Jin is awakened by the guard. "Hey, kid... get up! It's time to go!" Jin's cell is opened and he is led out. "These are the people who will take you to the Gotha palace. From this moment on, you are under their responsibility." The guard explains, introducing him to the two Gotha policemen who have come to take him away.

"Okay, follow us" says one of them, grabbing Jin by the arm.

The two agents assigned to transport Jin are Lieutenant Morita and Second Lieutenant Hoshino. They escort him to a car, leaving through the main entrance of the courthouse and walking past the statue that the judge had mentioned the previous day. Jin gets into the back of the car, followed by his two escorts, who thus keep him between them, while in the front seats there is only one man driving, namely Officer Noguchi. As soon as everyone is in the car, it is started and the journey begins. For a few minutes, Jin looks quietly out the window, noticing a very lively city with lots of cars, bicycles, and people on foot. It almost seems as if nothing has changed since the era he comes from, but after a few kilometers, something unexpected happens. Dozens of people emerge from manholes in the road, forcing Agent Noguchi to brake suddenly and sharply.

"What are you doing, you idiot?!" Tenete Morita yells at the driver.

"There are men who have appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the road!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's true! Maybe they're those Resistance fanatics" adds Second Lieutenant Hoshino worriedly.

Hearing these words, Jin leans forward, trying to see what is happening from the front window of the car. He immediately recognizes some of his old comrades. "Mitsuo! Gaho! You've come to save me."

"So what do we do with these guys? Do we use the stun guns?" Second Lieutenant Hoshino asks his superior, Morita.

"The orders are to take this guy to the Gotha building at all costs. We don't have time to waste."

Lieutenant Morita pulls out a walkie-talkie and presses a button to begin speaking. “This is Lieutenant Morita. About thirty unidentified civilians have entered the road, jeopardizing the success of Operation Back to the Future. I repeat... a number of unidentified civilians have entered the road, endangering Operation Back to the Future."

A voice responds from the walkie-talkie. “I have detected your position via satellite and I am receiving a response from the microchips of Major Morita, Second Lieutenant Hoshino, and Agent Nogu...” Radio interference suddenly interrupts communications.

It all seems to be caused by a device held in Mitsuo's hand, who mocks the three Gotha police officers. “You wanted to communicate with your superiors, eh? I'm sure you would have liked to shoot us with real bullets, but unfortunately for you, Gotha society is based on a strong hierarchical structure and there is no room for individual initiative. Basically, without permission from your superiors, you can't do anything!>> Lieutenant Morita looks disheartened, revealing that Mitsuo is right.

"Lieutenant! Lieutenant! What do we do? Do we prepare the stun guns?" asks Second Lieutenant Hoshino.

"No, there are too many of them for us... let's proceed with firearms, let's give these subversives a taste of lead."

"B-but we haven't received authorization to do that."

"We operate under the direct control of Member of Logic Miura. She told us to take the prisoner to his destination at any cost, and we will do so."

“B-but for...” Hoshino tries to object, but in the meantime, the car begins to be shaken by some members of the Resistance, who are trying to overturn it, while others try to break the windows with stones and iron bars.

Lieutenant Morita then pulls out his gun and loads it. Jin notices what he is doing, but being handcuffed, he cannot stop him. “Hey! What are you going to do?”

"Just watch, kid."

A crowbar smashes the window on Lieutenant Morita's side, and without thinking twice, he opens fire on the boy who did it, hitting him in the head and killing him instantly. The sound of the bullet catches the attention of everyone present and quickly causes panic among the Resistance.

"They're shooting! They're shooting with real guns!"

"Go! Go!"

The Resistance group begins to flee from the car, trying to return to the sewers from which they had emerged, but Lieutenant Morita does not stop and, getting out of the car, continues to fire at his enemies, shooting down two more and firing additional shots that miss their target.

"Take that! And that! You wanted to make fun of Gotha, eh?! This is what you deserve, stupid terrorists!" The lieutenant turns to his subordinate. "You too, Second Lieutenant Hoshino, open fire, let these barbarians hear a little civilization!"

"B-but it's no longer necessary, they're retreating..."

“Come on… don't be shy, as I said, we're practically untouchable, I assure you.”

Second Lieutenant Hoshino, though unconvinced by his superior's words, gives in to pressure and, closing his eyes, fires a single shot, without hitting anyone. noticing the missed shot, laughs and teases his subordinate. “Second Lieutenant Hoshino... you really have terrible aim, you should practice more often with real weapons.”

Hoshino agrees with Lieutenant Morita, but his expression clearly shows that he is relieved that he did not hurt anyone. "Yes, Lieutenant... you're right."

"Anyway, the situation has returned to normal, those rats have gone back into the sewers from whence they came. Agent Noguchi, please resume the journey to Gotha headquarters."

The surviving members of the Resistance have already fled through the same manholes they came out of, and the car resumes its journey.

In the back of the car, in the same positions as before, the two Gotha agents continue to chat. “Second Lieutenant Hoshino... am I mistaken, or have you never fired a real gun before?” Morita asks.

"Only during training at the academy."

"Of course... you're quite young, you've never served without stop guns. To be honest, since they were introduced, I haven't been able to use firearms either. I must say, today was a fun trip down memory lane."

"How can you say that? You killed numerous civilians."

“Civilians? They certainly weren't civilians. Those who oppose Gotha must be crushed. You'll see that we will be rewarded for our courage by Miura, the Member of Logic.”

Jin, who until now had been petrified after witnessing the death of some of his former comrades, begins to rail against the police. “You are just cowards! You should be the ones punished, not those who deface walls like Ren!”

“Just know that Gotha is always right. We owe the peace of our society to this institution... the members of the council are never wrong." Lieutenant Morita looks out the window and sees the Gotha building. It is a semicircular structure resembling a cocoon, located in the center of the city. "Here we are... come on, they're waiting for us."

Lieutenant Morita and Second Lieutenant Hoshino get out of the car and escort Jin, one on his right and one on his left. Once inside the palace, the three head for a large room that occupies almost the entire first floor, reaching the center of it. When they reach that position, powerful lights are turned on and pointed at the trio, so much so that Lieutenant Morita and Second Lieutenant Hoshino have to cover their faces to be able to look up, while Jin, still handcuffed, can only squint.

A few meters above them are 11 small balconies arranged in a circle, on which there are as many individuals, some men and some women. Among these people, Jin recognizes Junna Miura, who immediately speaks up. "I am pleased to see that you have arrived right on time."

"Yes, there were some problems, but Lieutenant Hoshino and I dealt with them promptly."

"The 'Back to the Future' mission has been completed with obvious success. You may now release the prisoner."

Second Lieutenant Hoshino carries out Junna's order and immediately removes Jin's handcuffs, while Lieutenant Morita continues to confront her. “I'm glad to hear that. Now, with your permission, we'll take our leave and await further orders.”

The two men head for the exit.

"Wait a minute!" Junna suddenly exclaims.

"I told you we would be rewarded for our courage," Lieutenant Morita says quietly to Second Lieutenant Hoshino, before turning back to Junna and addressing her. "Go ahead, Member of Logic Miura."

“Major Morita and Second Lieutenant Hoshino, please return to the center of the room.” The two men obeyed the orders, allowing the woman to continue speaking. “We, the members of Gotha, have received some rather disturbing satellite images regarding your behavior today and have decided to judge you, having gathered here to do the same with the prisoner you brought us.” The two Gotha police officers look concerned, but Junna has not yet finished speaking. “You have violated the orders and chain of command established by the Gotha. Specifically, you opened fire on civilians without authorization, causing three casualties. I propose the death penalty for both Lieutenant Morita, who is guilty of three murders, and Second Lieutenant Hoshino, who is guilty of attempted murder for firing a gun, endangering the lives of civilians even though he did not injure any of them."

“What the hell are you talking about?! We did everything we could to bring this boy here as you ordered us to. We simply did everything we could to meet your expectations.”

“I must have overestimated you, Lieutenant. I thought that a man of your experience would respect the strict rules of our nation, but at the first opportunity, you became just another hunting dog wearing a uniform. Did you think that no one was watching the watchers and that you could commit crimes without any consequences? Even multiple murders, as in this case.”

“But they were just subversives who were attacking us... We fired to protect ourselves.”

“Please... control yourself, don't let the last memory of you be that of a man terrified of taking responsibility.”

“At least let all the responsibility fall on me. Second Lieutenant Hoshino only fired on my direct orders.”

“I greatly appreciate this stance, Lieutenant Morita. Trying to take on the blame of such a young subordinate is a truly noble gesture, but unfortunately you had no authority to give that order and, above all, under the Gotha government, all responsibility is entirely individual. For these reasons, I ask the other members of the council to approve my request for the death penalty for both of them.” A green light comes on on the balconies of all the members of the Gotha Council. Junna looks at them all with a satisfied expression, then announces the sentence. “You are unanimously sentenced to death. We will inform your families of what has happened to you in a transparent manner, do not worry.”

Four more members of the Gotha police enter the room and take Lieutenant Morita and Second Lieutenant Hoshino away, two by two, amid the invective and screams of the former and the tears of the latter.

“Bastards, you can't do this! I was only following orders! Cowards! You stand on your stupid balconies and just judge!”

"H-how could this have happened... I-I didn't do anything... I-I didn't even want to shoot."

As soon as the two are forcibly taken out of the room, the door closes, leaving only Jin in the center of it. Junna, looking down at him from her balcony, licks her lips. “And now it's time for the main course.”