In a private meeting room, Marcus stood beside a table of dark grey metal, his officer's cap resting on the flat surface from where he had taken it off. Across from him, Strategos Idriah and Colonel Chambers spoke with each other in hushed tones, their backs turned towards him. Their bodies obscured the sound of their words, and from what Marcus glimpsed as he waited in silence, their faces were grim and extremely serious.

However, after a long while, they turned to face him, Idriah first and Chambers following after. The female Strategos looked at the table and rested her outstretched fingertips upon the cold metal plate, her eyes gazing down

"So, Strategos... what's our next move?" he asked.

Idriah looked at him. "Our next priority is getting Haraq back from the Xan-Klar. We need to bring down the Hand of Reclamation, but before we can do that, we need information. Their location, their leaders, their next plan... anything we can get our hands on would be useful." Her words drummed with deep conviction as she spoke. "That's where you come in, Major. You need to retrieve that Sirthon and bring him home."

Marcus' mouth creaked up slightly at the corners, but before he anything else could happen, Colonel Chambers spoke out.

"What?!" the officer asked, a look of confusion upon his face. "You're sending him again?!"

Idriah looked the bald man dead in the eyes. "Do you have an alternative, Colonel?" he asked calmly.

"Yes I do, ma'am - literally anyone else!" he raised his voice slightly before turning to Marcus and pointing his finger like a pistol. "The only thing this one deserves is a demotion, at least! His incompetence is the cause of this entire situation, and you would send him out to try and amend it?"

The urge to punch the Colonel once again arose in Marcus' mind. He squeezed his teeth together inside his firmly-shut mouth, frustration bleeding through his gums and burning in his brain like a frothing column of lava. His temple muscles twitched as he gnawed at his own enamel, but he kept himself calm.

Idriah, meanwhile, remained collected as always. "Major Winter served with Aharon Kleber, previous commander of the 5th Company," she told Chambers. "I believe you two were acquainted?" she asked rhetorically.

The Colonel's expression softened slightly as she mentioned Kleber's name. "We were, ma'am. A finer soldier, I've never met, even if he was a bit long in the tooth. What happened to him was a tragedy." However, the look on his face darkened again as he looked at Marcus. "It's a shame that someone so inferior succeeded command of his unit." he muttered under his breath.

It was then that Marcus snapped, and butted into the conversation.

"With all due respect, Colonel... I did what I thought best! And my judgement as an officer, and a Commando, told me that I shouldn't keep Haraq from the Xan-Klar and prioritise one life over millions! Lady Taneera openly threatened war between the Union and the Empire unless Haraq was given over to Xan-Klar custody." He looked Chambers in the eye. "I'll take full responsibility for what I did, but as I understood it, the opening of the Embassy was meant to help prevent future hostilities with the-"

"The Embassy is a ruin now, Major." "In your fight against the Hand, the entire plaza was practically shredded. All that work we did, all the workers we pulled there - now all for nothing."

The Colonel seemed about to continue, but then both men jolted in alarm when something unexpected happened.

"Enough!"

Idriah raised her voice. And as it happened, the pallor of the whole room darkened. Standing fully upright, the Strategos surveyed the two men, her normally-calm eyes now glaringly bright as emotion coursed through her and blasted into the two men like streams of cosmic energy.

Time seemed to stop in its tracks, and the air of the chamber went deathly silent. It was as if the universe itself was deferring to Idriah, obediently awaiting her permission to do anything. And that feeling hung over the room for a long while, only ceasing when the Strategos spoke again.

"That will be all, Colonel." She said, her voice rigid and stern. "Leave. I will discuss plans with you later."

Colonel Chambers, previously outspoken about his opinions, was now as quiet as death itself. His mouth buttoned shut, he headed for the sliding metal entrance of the room, his hurried pace hinting at the panic that was cycling through his feverish mind.

Marcus couldn't be happier to see him gone, but he wasn't going to start smiling yet... for Idriah's gaze was now resting squarely upon him.

"This incident is more than enough for a court of Inquiry, Major Winter. Even if your actions were of the best intentions, the deaths of 25 SOSC personnel and the loss of a VIP who could be critical to fighting the Hand of Reclamation is not something that can be lightly overlooked..."

Marcus nodded his head, reluctantly coming to terms with what she was saying. "Yes ma'am."

According to military procedure, a court of inquiry would be to determine if Marcus was truly to blame for the events of the Embassy Attack. If that was found to be so, then he might face a court martial, a full-on court case in which he would have to defend his actions.

The likely charges? Incompetence, along with reckless endangerment of both military personnel and civilian lives.

The likely sentence? Either a dishonourable discharge, or life behind bars.

"But..." Idriah continued. "... in light of your exemplary service record before hand, and because your actions were not openly in defiance of any given orders... there will be no action against you. And right now, we can't afford to waste resources." She stood upright and looked at him, the confidence in her gaze denoting both faith in him and fearlessness in herself.

"You will get out there, find Haraq, and bring him back to us."

Relief coursed through Marcus as he heard her say that, a smile crossed his face. "Thank you, Mar- Strategos." he said, pausing to correct himself as he got her rank wrong out of habit.

It was then, though, that Idriah said "However, I will be sending someone with you."

Marcus was about to ask who, when Idriah called the word 'Major!' while looking at the door behind them. Turning as his relief mixed with confusion, Major Winter watched as the entrance of the meeting room opened and a figure walked in.

Instinctively, Marcus' eyes went to the newcomer's face, wondering if it was someone he knew. What he saw was a fair-skinned human, with short brown hair growing from a widow's peak at the front of his forehead and fully covering his scalp. He had no scars upon his long and chiselled face, his handsome visage left seemingly unblemished by the marks or weight of hardship.

His attire was naval uniform, everything aligned and detailed perfectly, medals glittering like stars. He stood around 6 feet tall or just under, with a body build that was athletic, yet unassuming. He looked healthy, but he wouldn't stand out in a crowd as the pinnacle of the human form.

However, the most stark and striking thing about this man was his eyes. He had grey irises that seemed alert and aware, sharp as a flint as he scanned the room. He studied everything - where everyone was standing, the postures they took, the hand gestures they made. But he did not do so in a shifty, eerie way. Instead, he looked as though he had every right to inspect each aspect of the room and render verdict, even when Idriah was present before him.

Strategos Idriah held out her hand. "Major Winter, meet Major James Gideon - Unit 19."

When he heard the words 'Unit 19', Marcus' eyes widened slightly. However, his broad shoulders tensed under his uniform, the muscles contracting like anacondas around his spine and neck.

He didn't know much about the fabled special unit of the Union Navy, and that immediately put him on edge. But then again, no-one knew much about Unit 19.

They were the Navy's most secret weapon, the knife blade hidden up their sleeves. Specialists in covert tactics and black ops missions, wrapped in rumour and supposition, they were said to be part military unit, part spy organisation and part secret police.

They were the spiders hanging in the web on intrigue, ready to strike at any caught in their schemes.

Unknown. Uncatchable. Unaccountable.

Marcus was a few inches taller than Major Gideon, and looked stronger than him in every way... and yet still felt unnerved. He looked at the newcomer with a slightly perturbed gaze, meeting those striking grey eyes as they looked up at him in kind. 

With a simple, direct motion, Major Gideon extended his hand. "A pleasure, Major Winter," he said, giving the impression that he knew who Marcus was just from seeing him.

There was a brief, suspicious pause before Marcus extended his own hand, acting out of politeness and instinct if nothing else. Firmly gripping Gideon's hand, he shook it, their fingers closing over each other while their palms were pressed together.

Beside them, Idriah folded her arms. "Gideon, I'll leave the rest of this to you. I have to attend to preparing this planetfor any more attacks." she said. "Bring that Sirthon back at any cost."

Instead of giving the customary salute to the superior officer, Gideon simply nodded his head. "Yes, Strategos." he said, his voice eerily tranquil, as though he were a machine receiving his next instructions

Before anything else could be said, Idriah stepped around the table and walked straight for the exit, moving with the pace and purpose that one might expect from a high-ranking military officer. Upright, straightforward... sure of herself

However, as the Union's newest Strategos passed, Marcus noticed a certain look in her eye. One that he couldn't quite define.

Was it fatigue, from simple tiredness? Was it exasperation, for having to now deal with the security of an entire planet because of his actions? Or was it... regret, for having to call in Unit 19 to fix the problem they now had?

Whatever it was, Idriah left as quick and quiet as the wind, leaving Marcus alone with Gideon.

"So, Major Winter..." Gideon began, looking up at Marcus with his hands resting behind his back. "... how is the post-war era treating you?"

Marcus looked at Gideon. As he spoke, they both slowly turned about and walked side-by-side at the same pace.

"Can't complain," he said in response, still feeling a tad uneasy about this man. "How about you, Major?"

"Much the same." Gideon replied. "I just hope that we can deal with this Xan-Klar debacle before everything spirals out of control..." he said.

"You and me both." Marcus told him, affirming their common opinion.

"My apologies for the losses in your company." Gideon swiftly added, his voice bearing no hint of true sorrow or empathy. "I'm sure their worlds will remember them as heroes."
His little speech was very rigid and formal - as though he were just saying this for its own sake. Because etiquette demanded it.

"Thank you." Marcus' reply was just as rigid, the events of the attack still tugging at him like a harpy's claws.

"Now, if there's nothing else you wish to discuss, I think we should get to work." Gideon spoke abruptly, his words prompt and to-the-point as could be. "Bring your men to the briefing room in 10, and I'll give them a sitrep and the details of the rescue."

Marcus nodded. "Wilco." he said in response. But by the time he had spoken, Gideon was already walking away, his back facing towards Major Winter like a cold stone barricade. Watching, Marcus felt a glimmer of offense deep inside his body, but he snuffed it out quickly.

They were in a stressful situation. Tact was likely not high on Gideon's priority list. And besides, Unit 19 agents weren't renowned for their amiability. If they were renowned at all...