15 OCT 33AE, 0430

Portland Base Camp, Oregon

A late night and an early morning wouldn't do Camilla any favors, but every time she closed her eyes, the chill of the dead would inevitably creep into her senses and send shivers raking through her. Apparently she wasn't the only one who had trouble sleeping, and more than one of her neighbors tossed and turned restlessly. After checking the time, Camilla deemed 0430 to be late enough to have breakfast, and she rolled from her rack and snuck out of the tent as quietly as she could.

The mess tent was much more crowded than she expected, and it took only a few minutes of eavesdropping to find out why. Apparently, a large number of squads had already gotten their next orders, and most of them wanted to fit in one good meal before heading off into whatever warzone the Org sent them next. As somber of an idea as it was, the energy in the mess hall was lively, as if everyone was trying to mask the hellscape they were living in.

While Camilla had no reason to partake in the theatrics, she wasn't going to be a buzzkill either, so after grabbing some food she found a seat off to the side where she wouldn't get in the way.

Her plan ended up backfiring when a sudden silence fell upon the mess hall, and a guardian dressed in royal blue had to make their way through the crowd to get to Camilla. Camilla had been focused on working though her pancake at the time, and she only noticed all the eyes on her and the brightly-dressed messenger when she finally bothered to see what caused such a hush.

Then again, she should have known this was bound to happen eventually. Ever since she began her independent deployments, she had been receiving several of her orders directly from the Sacramento Senior Chief, the highest ranking guardian in the west side of the country, instead of the chief of the branch she was based out of like everyone else. And while all the other chiefs sent their orders out digitally, the Senior Chief was known to send her personal messengers to relay her bidding for whatever reason, and Camilla had become accustomed to their inevitable arrivals.

"First Officer Wyatt," the messenger said. "From Senior Chief Ali, report to Sacramento Base immediately."

"I'm eating," Camilla replied as if it was obvious. She had given up on formalities with these messengers by their third visit.

But the messenger merely returned Camilla's stare with one of their own, and eventually Camilla rolled her eyes with a sigh.

"Understood," Camilla said, slightly exasperated. "I'll leave in twenty."

"Fifteen," the messenger corrected.

"Yeah, sure."

Once the messenger left, and the chatter in the mess slowly picked up again, Camilla begrudgingly looked at the remains of her meal. She wasn't one to waste perfectly good food, and the food that they served was actually delicious no matter what most people said.

With limited time and not many options, she piled the rest of her scrambled eggs and bacon on top of her pancake and folded it like a taco. As she picked up her creation, it reminded her of some of Elsie's unique food combinations, and she took a large bite of it to distract her from yet another pang of homesickness that left a void in her chest. It ended up tasting delicious, so she took it with her as she left the mess, dropping off her dishes on the way out.

About an hour later, she touched down in the landing zone at the Sacramento Base with nothing but the uniform she was wearing and the few necessities that could fit in her Org-issued backpack. After showing her ID to the bolstered security presence, she made her way up to the senior chief's office, a route she had traveled many times over the past month.

Senior Chief Yara Ali was waiting for her apparently, according to her frazzled secretary, who ushered Camilla into her office without much fanfare. The secretary's reaction didn't surprise Camilla much—it must have been a nightmare to work for the most senior guardian in the West Coast when their jurisdiction was getting blown up on the daily.

What did surprise her was who else was in the office. Standing in front of the senior chief's desk was San Diego's chief Omar Ali, along with Camilla's former captain Abigail Lee. Seeing the San Diego chief wasn't what Camilla expected but she wasn't entirely surprised. He was, after all, the senior chief's brother. On the other hand, Lee's attendance was definitely unusual.

"Thank you for joining us, First Officer Wyatt," Senior said, sounding completely genuine. She gestured to the space in front of her desk, next to her brother and Lee. "Please."

Camilla did as she was told, trying not to look nervous as she glanced at the other two visitors. But when she sensed that the energy in the room didn't seem bad, she relaxed enough to take her place in front of the senior chief with ease.

"First off," Senior began. "I have to commend you for your actions in the operation to reclaim the Portland Base. I've heard many good reports from multiple sources, which only supports why I've called you here today.

"You've done an excellent job recently, Officer Wyatt, not only over this past month but also while operating in Captain Lee's squad. And your efforts have not gone unnoticed. Which is why I'd like to offer you a promotion to captain."

Her offer caught Camilla off-guard, so much so that Camilla couldn't hide her surprise.

"Ma'am?" was all she could ask, her eyes wide.

"I know it's a little sudden," Senior continued. "And it's not exactly common for someone to skip a rank either. I will admit that part of this sudden promotion is attributed to our low number of personnel at the moment, but rest assured that your actions would have at least earned you a promotion to Vice Captain under normal circumstances."

"I see," Camilla replied, still trying to let the idea of captainship sink in.

"You have a choice, of course," Senior added. "You have every right to refuse this promotion, though I highly recommend you accept it, and I'm sure Chief Ali and Captain Lee would agree as your most vocal supporters."

At the mention of their names, Chief Ali and Lee both nodded in agreement, surprising Camilla even more. She supposed Lee had been wanting this for Camilla for a while, but Camilla didn't think she had that much of an impact at the battle for San Diego's base.

As flattering as the offer was, Camilla couldn't help the skepticism that lingered in her mind. On one hand, being a captain guaranteed her a squad of her own, which meant she would have the minor sense of stability that she had been missing. At the same time, that also made her responsible for their lives. She wasn't sure if she was ready for or even wanted more responsibilities, or the heightened expectations of her that came with it, especially since she was having a hard enough time just managing herself.

Either way, she supposed she didn't have much of a choice; as much as Senior emphasized that the promotion was optional, Camilla knew better than to believe that. If the Org wanted something, they would get it eventually. The least Camilla could do was have it work in her favor.

"If I accept," Camilla began, thinking over her words carefully. "May I offer a suggestion?"

Senior seemed slightly surprised, but at least not entirely against simply listening. "Let's hear it."

Camilla swallowed. A part of her was more nervous than she'd like to admit, but the rest of her was brimming with courage. Within her mind, she could hear Elsie's words repeating over and over: Think about yourself too.

"Senior Chief, are you aware about the... special clause in my contract with the Org?" Camilla asked, then elaborated at the confused look she received. "The one that requires me to be on a specific medication while I'm working."

"I've heard of it, yes," Senior admitted. "But I'm not aware of the details."

"It's... a behavioral drug," Camilla said, trying to ignore Lee's curious gaze on her. "It was meant to make me more pleasant and easy to work with."

Senior raised her eyebrows slightly, but it wasn't enough of a reaction for Camilla to read her.

"And..." Camilla unsuccessfully tried to hide the deep breath she took, "I haven't been using it for the past several months."

An eerie silence lingered in the office. Eventually Senior let out a quiet exhale and leaned forward in her seat.

"First Officer Wyatt," she said, her tone slightly more formal than it was a few minutes ago. "Are you admitting to me, the senior chief of your region, that you've been intentionally breaching your contract with the Organization?"

"I ordered her to do so," Lee suddenly jumped in.

"I wasn't asking you, Captain Lee," Senior said before turning back to Camilla expectantly.

"I had already stopped taking them before that time," Camilla said, not willing to have Lee risk her career just to protect Camilla from her own mess. "And Captain Lee only told me to stop using my fake personality. She didn't explicitly order me to go against my contract. To my knowledge, she was never even aware that I was supposed to be medicated until today.

"As for your original question, Senior Chief... yes. I am admitting that I was intentionally going against my contract, but for a good reason."

"Please, elaborate," Senior said.

Camilla still couldn't read her, but there was no turning back now. In fact, the only direction she wanted to move in was forward.

"While the drugs made me more sociable and personable, I also noticed they significantly lessened my abilities," Camilla explained. "I decided to live with it for several years, but more recently, I realized that even though it's important to keep the favor of the public, being able to protect them is our priority and ultimate responsibility. And since I didn't think the Org would approve my request to renegotiate my contract, I made my own decision.

"If anything, these past few months have shown that the drugs have done nothing but hold me back. My speed, my energy capacity, my control—all of it improved drastically once I was consistently sober. And I think I've proven on multiple occasions that my normal personality is fine the way it is, and the other guardians still listen to me and respect me as I am.

"In any case, my breach of contract was my fault, and my fault alone, and I take full responsibility for my actions."

Once Camilla made her case, there was nothing she could do but wait. She meant what she said, and she was willing to take full responsibility for the choices she made. While she was grateful to Lee for trying to take the blame, and she remembered Elsie's offer to use her as an excuse, this was Camilla's problem, and she was going to see it through.

A tense silence followed, and Senior stared at Camilla for a while before she spoke up again.

"Do you understand what you're saying?" she asked. "Violating an Org contract comes with serious consequences, including but not limited to time in Farallon.

"Now, I'll give you one more chance," Senior offered, holding up her index finger in emphasis. "I'm not saying you can continue to violate your contract as you've been doing, but I can pretend that this conversation never took place, and I'm sure Chief Ali and Captain Lee would do the same. Nothing would change, and we would just keep that clause in your new contract."

The senior chief looked directly in Camilla's eyes, her gaze firm. "Now, do you stand by what you said? Or would you like to revise your statement?"

But Camilla had already made up her mind, and when it came to her freedom she wanted all or nothing.

"I'm not changing what I said, and I meant it," Camilla said adamantly. "I've made my choices, and I'm willing to take responsibility."

The silence that followed her words this time was lighter, but that was probably because it felt like an immense weight had been lifted from Camilla's shoulders. Her decision may have ultimately landed her in tighter shackles than before, but at least her soul finally felt free.

Suddenly, a small smile appeared on Senior's face, and she leaned back comfortably in her seat.

"And that sounds like the words of a leader," Senior said, nodding proudly.

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