In their heads, they were thinking just who the hell this person was? Who in the right mind would wear jeans and hoodie to an Army award ceremony? There were many big status individuals present today, including, the Head Secretary of Country Z. To be in casual clothing, it was basically disrespecting those with higher status. It was equivalent to spitting on their shoe.
The young man in the black hoodie did not seem to care about the stares on him. He scrolled up to his name plaque placed on the table. Sitting down at the very table that held Gray and Sato, the young man did not say a word as he took out his phone from his pocket. This once again stumped everyone that could see what the young man was doing. From the way he held his phone, he was most definitely playing a game in the middle of the speech!
Seeing this, Sato's mouth was agape in how daring the young man was. From his standpoint, Sato could tell the young man was most definitely around his age. What position did he hold in the army, Sato could not tell. On his round table, there was only six spots, meaning, the mystery boy in black was the last person to get settled in.
"I'm sure everyone would like the dinner course to begin," The professional emcee did not falter even after seeing such a spectacle offstage. He continued along his speech, "And so, let us commence the award ceremony! Lieutenant General Christopher Perkins could you please come on stage to give out the awards."
Lieutenant General Christopher Perkins was the current Chief of Army in Country Z. He held the highest position in the military and so, it was without a doubt that he would be giving out the awards.
"Firstly, we would be giving the 'Best Active Unit Award'." The emcee spoke eloquently, "The Best Active Unit Award goes to 7th Alpha Unit led under the wings of Major General Jack Sterling."
The grumpy general immediately turned his frown upside down as he walked confidently on stage to receive his award. It was extremely obvious that the man was putting up a face in front of the cameras. Yet, there was nothing that the personnels could do.
Coming off and heading back to his seat with the award in his hand, Jack gave Gray a meaningful smirk. It was like he was saying 'Heh, my active unit won the award. What about yours?'. Gray did not let such a move get to his head. Rather, that fleeting disappointment disappeared from his head almost immediately.
To take part and attain a chance to qualify as the Best Active Unit, the Unit would have to participate in joint military competitions to test their teamwork and competency in combat. Unfortunately, the Secret Ops Unit that Gray was in charge of was deployed to attend to counter terrorism acts around the world. There wasn't a chance for them to participate in the competition.
The next few awards had nothing to do with Gray's Formation. Only when it rolled down to the Army Innovation Award, was there hope for Gray's Research and Development branch to win. Their branch's latest creation was the Missile Defence System that could detect and neutralise aerial attacks within a 100 kilometre radius. Such a large technological advancement basically meant that the award was already in their hands.
As expected, the emcee called out the awardee, "The Army Innovation Award this year goes to none other than to the Army Research And Development Branch, headed by Major General Gray Tobion."
Gray straightened his suit as he stood up and headed to the stage. His form and stride was elegant and yet, very masculine at the same time. Many females in the hall could not take their eyes off the handsome general. It had always been this way for the devilishly handsome Gray. Over the years, he grew to be accustomed to such stares.
"Congratulations, Gray. Country Z's army deeply appreciates the contribution that you have brought to us ever since you took this position. Being the Head of Defence Base meant that you had to be diversely inclined in different fields. Indeed, replacing Jack for a youngling was the right move." As Gray accepted the award from the Lieutenant General, the man in his early 50s complimented the young general.
It was as the Chief of Army had said, Gray was actually a risky move executed by the Lieutenant General himself. Many of the Heads in the Army objected Gray's new appointment with the reason 'lack of experience'. In their mind, they thought that with age came wisdom and knowledge. For the position of Head of Defence base, the building housed three different branches that specialised in three different fields. Data Management, Reconnaissance and Neutralisation, and lastly, Research and Development. Each and every field was diverse and required years of experience and understanding to be able to lead a team well.
However, Christopher, the chief had other plans. The sudden monetary influx given by the Tobion family, in addition to Gray's extensive repertoire, were clear signs that Gray was someone with a significant background.
Thus, Christopher swapped out Jack and placed Gray on the highest pedestal and left it all under his hand. To his belief, the Lieutenant General was not mistrusted, Gray had lead the R&D team to their new advancement in just one year.