Chapter 192: Machinations

June 6, 624

Marshal Boores rubbed his chin.

“Traitors to humanity. That’s a bold accusation.”

“Not an accusation, yet. For now it’s just a cold fact. First I’d like to give a sequence of events.”

He waved, signaling his assent. 

That’s when John reached out and set down an insignia. It was the bloodied patch from Major General Quill’s Glimmers. The somber atmosphere turned down further, everyone reminded that they had lost such a valuable asset. 

“Major General Quill and I had developed a two pronged attack strategy to wipe out the Scourge contingent. First, we utilized our superior intel in order to arrange ambushes to kill the few Authority 10s in the area, simultaneously using companies we deployed as bait to draw out those forces. This worked, twice, and we managed to kill two Authority 10 Royals. I was on the second of these missions with the Snow Doves and Lancers, and aside from an unexpected attack that killed some of our soldiers, we finished victorious. However, it was during that mission that the outpost was attacked. It was sudden, entirely unexpected, and from my perspective, impossible.”

John tossed out a cradle next to the bloody insignia, planting an Orb within and projecting some images. 

It was a map, and he actively drew on it, everyone present seeing the landmarks such as the outpost and various mission areas. 

“The Scourge contingent had the option of attacking en masse at any point. What stopped them from doing so was the fact that we were watching them. We utilized the terrain and constant patrols and recon missions in order to keep a constant eye on the entire contingent, and we let them know of that fact. That way, should they decide to siege us, we would be able to prepare and respond in full force, on favorable terrain, and under our own specially curated conditions. For two weeks, our strategy worked flawlessly. We were puppeteering the entire battlefield and were on track to whittling them down and eradicating them with minimal losses. It was the sudden siege that destroyed all of our careful planning.”

John moved the icons marking the contingent, placing them around the outpost. Everyone could see just how far the Scourge would have to move, and how much terrain they’d have to weather in a short period to even reach the outpost. 

“Somehow, the Scourge managed to move their entire contingent without getting spotted. Even further, they managed to move their Bombardos without being heard. It wasn’t until those things were in range that alerts finally went out. So, how did the Scourge manage this? How did they manage to move over 20 thousand monsters through the web of patrols? The answer lies in here.”

The images changed, displaying a list of names as well as patrol routes. Some patrol groups were highlighted. 

“The groups and names you see here were all the patrols that could’ve seen the contingent moving at any point in time. Obviously they didn’t, which was why we were suddenly sieged. However, it wasn’t completely their fault.”

John crossed out around half of the groups and names. 

“All of these patrols were killed simultaneously, their deaths all occurring within a 10 minute period. I learned this after questioning certain intelligence agents, sessions which I have recordings of. Anyway, even with these patrol groups dead, there were still half of them left. What happened to them? They were either sent on different routes or were called off. These were the routes.”

More lines were drawn, all of them blatantly sprawling out to the sides, nowhere near the route the Scourge contingent took to reach the outpost. The rest remained within the outpost, outright skipping their patrol. 

“Neither Major General Quill nor I ever gave out these orders, and we were meticulous with our patrol routes because of how important they were. They were obviously critical because as soon as they collapsed, we got sieged. So now, the question is, who orchestrated this? I put together a list of initial suspects here.”

“Hang on.”

Marshal Boores raised his hand, rubbing his temples. 

“I don’t understand. Just because patrol routes temporarily fell doesn’t mean the Scourge suddenly knows to take advantage of the gap.”

“Exactly.”

“…”

Boores went silent when John smiled a bit. The two simply stared at each other. 

Everyone in the room saw as it clicked in his head. He groaned. 

“So someone told them.”

“Yes sir. And they didn’t just tell them. The two parties planned this well in advance. It was a well formed sabotage, I’ll admit that much. The issue is the fact that now, I have to take into account traitors when making battle plans. Now, who were the traitors?”

John pulled up another list of names, each name attached to a picture of various summoners. There were 5 pictures. 

“These 5 people were responsible for handling patrols. They are the only ones capable of carrying out what happened. And, it just so happens that three of them are dead.”

Three of the images were crossed out, leaving two currently alive. 

“I questioned the two summoners currently alive and went through all of their logs and reports dating all the way back to the start of Operation Breakwater. Only this man here was clear of any suspicion. All of his patrol teams were on their normal routes and killed, and all his records were clear. As for this man…”

Everyone looked at the only remaining name and picture. 

“I think he had been tricked. Major Smithson had 8 of his 11 patrols killed and the remaining 3 were diverted. His records showed signs of doctoring and don’t match reported routes. The reason I don’t suspect him though was because he was in contact with the actual traitor, Lieutenant Colonel Botts.”

The image of one of the dead was highlighted. 

“Lieutenant Colonel Botts doctored not only his records but the records of Major Smithson and a certain dead Major Varn. All of Botts’ patrols were diverted, and one managed to survive. I talked to them and they said that they were given those diverted orders from Botts during the briefing. One of the patrols under Major Varn also managed to survive, and I was told that it wasn’t Varn who gave them the briefing, but Botts. Varn is dead so we can’t question him about why he allowed Botts to take control of his teams, but when I talked to Major Smithson, it became clear why. Lieutenant Colonel Botts was apparently a malicious man and had them under his thumb. They didn’t question why he wanted to make the changes he did, and since it seemed like an inconsequential change, they didn’t report it to me.”

John sighed as Botts’ picture was highlighted instead of Major Varn’s 

“I’ve gone through all the evidence and have it all recorded, ready for any of you to peruse and verify. Right now, the only conclusion is that Lieutenant Colonel Botts was a traitor to humanity who conspired with the Scourge in order to open a gap in our defenses and create a pivotal opening for the Scourge to attack us. We managed to survive because of our superior preparations and tactics, but we still took devastating losses unseen in over a year, since Purple Sky. I have a full report along with the evidence I’ve collected, but in short, I’ve concluded that policy changes are necessary in order to maintain checks on various personnel to ensure that even if a traitor does attempt to try something like this again, it won’t succeed.”

John took out two stacks of papers, walking around the table and placing one in front of Marshal Boores and one in front of General Viskar. 

He returned to his place as they looked at it. Marshal Boores picked it up symbolically, looking like he had no interest in ever reading so much. 

Silence prevailed, Marshal Boores tapping his fingers and thinking. 

“Your conclusion makes sense, but there are a lot of details so General Viskar will be going through everything. As for the fact that there could be a traitor, how many people know?”

“I’ve not discussed this with anyone except Brigadier Nonnen.”

“Hm.”

Boores gave Nonnen a quick look before nodding. 

“Good. You’ve handled the situation exceptionally. What we can’t have is panic and doubt in a situation such as this, especially as we move into the second phase of Operation Breakwater.”

“Agreed, sir.”

“…You’re sure the suspect is dead?”

“We found Botts’ corpse, so yes. The Bombardos killed a majority of intelligence personnel since their attacks aren’t exactly selective and summoners aren’t resilient. We pulled many bodies out of the rubble of our headquarters.”

“Mm.”

He nodded, taking another glance at the report. 

“Well then, Major Cooper. Is that everything you have for us today?”

“That’s all I have regarding my concerns. However, I have one other thing I’d like to ask.”

“What’s that?”

“I’d like to take the test to promote to Lieutenant Colonel, sir.”

Boores went silent, a few people’s eyes widening. It was quite audacious to ask such a thing so blatantly. Few had the balls. 

Boors stared at John a bit. 

“Why do you think you deserve such a thing?”

“Sir, I’ve done a lot of things since joining the military not long ago. However, I would like to think that my achievements are secondary to the fact that I’ve made my accomplishments consistently. Becoming a Lieutenant Colonel will allow me to involve myself more as I continue to work alongside exceptional people like Colonel Polly and the late Major General Quill. I’d like to spend more time gaining experience before ever attempting to become something like a Colonel, but as a Lieutenant Colonel I’ll be able to exercise greater authority, authority which will be used to solve the problems that are beginning to plague this Operation. I refuse to stand by as these problems fester.”

Nonnen glanced over, seeing John looking Marshal Boores dead in the eye as if he wanted to kill the man. They could all sense the sheer conviction within him. 

Marshal Boores returned the gaze.

“In a time when it’s becoming increasingly dangerous to give power to those whose alliegiances are uncertain, such as the traitor Botts, why do you think I shouldn’t bring you under scrutiny?”

“…”

John’s eyes relaxed just a bit, as if he had been asked the easiest, or perhaps the most stupid, question in the world. 

A certain pride flowed off him. His back straightened, towering over everyone in the room. John was already tall but when everyone sat, he demanded all attention and respect within the room. 

He spoke his unquestionable words. 

“…I was there during the downfall of Purple Sky. I survived the insanity that drove the tens of thousands of soldiers within to kill each other. I… have gazed upon the King of Anarchy. I saw it, watched it, as it released a blade of primordial power that severed the world in two. Then I watched as its army of millions broke through our defenses and charged through the base, burying the soldiers underneath them like ocean tides. I barely managed to survive, and in doing so I suffered the consequences of gazing upon Anarchy, the icon of insanity and annihilation.”

Nonnen clenched his jaw when John smiled, feeling a slight chill go down his scalp. 

“Not many will understand what it means when I say that I have triumphed over Anarchy. Thus, I am in the unique position to say that to question my allegiance to humanity is… naive. You could say that I am the very last person to ever doubt, sir, which is why I believe I’m suited to solving certain problems, problems that I could solve easier if I receive this promotion.”

Nonnen struggled to keep his countenance neutral as everyone waited for Boores’ response. 

After what seemed like a full minute, he glanced down at the slightly crumbled report in his hands, breaking his gaze from John’s.

“If I wanted you to help solve the traitor problem, what would you do?”

“…In a most optimal scenario I would create a division dedicated to catching traitors. A Counterespionage unit, if you will. We would comb over mission reports and data, keep eyes on key personnel, and either imprison traitors before they can sabotage us or eliminate them after the fact. We will surveil and secure the base and our operations against the Scourge, fighting them with subterfuge as they’ve started to do with us.”

“A Counterespionage division…”

Marshal Boores leaned back in his chair, pondering for another while before nodding.

“General Viskar will handle the test. Draw up a report on the policy changes you had in mind and draft a template for the Counterespionage division. For now, we’ll arrange plans to respond to the Scourge when they find out their flanking force has been destroyed. After that, phase two of Operation Breakwater will begin, and we’ll see just how effective this division is.”

Nonnen let out a breath, watching John give a relaxed but deliberate salute, as if there could be no other outcome to this conversation. 

There was no more suspense. John was a Lieutenant Colonel, and now he was given particularly extensive power to solve the new problems plaguing the base.

Their solutions would require subtlety and cunning, but John had already shown himself capable of exercising the traits necessary to thrive in that dark, conniving environment. And with this new promotion, he would be getting the single greatest check of approval to do, just about, whatever he damned pleased. 

After all, someone who had triumphed over Anarchy couldn’t be doubted. Few knew what it meant to do that, but those that did understood its gravity. The implications were absolute, and it seemed like Marshal Boores understood them. He would still be taking a chance, but the likelihood that it would pay off was high.

Nonnen felt like things were about to change again. He’d have to keep John close if he wanted such a valuable ally on his side. Who knew if he would fall victim to the machinations of a traitorous intelligence agent? He wanted protection from someone who was the deepest in that world.  

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep