Upon reading the message on the panel, Aectaeon couldn't suppress the relief that overcame him.
It was just a gamble on his part.
He wasn't certain that it was the Commander who had asked his name. Only when he heard the question did his eyes catch a glimpse of his position on the map. He was merely half a meter away from entering the camp. Thereafter, he took the risk in order to save his life.
Thankfully, it worked in his favour.
Aectaeon didn't make another move. He just waited for the smoke to fully dissipate lest aggravating the soldiers anew. After all, the Commander still labelled him as an intruder. There might be
"Store MAS-38. Store Survival Knife." Aectaeon muttered as his breathing became even.
Despite the bravado he showed earlier, he didn't want to look more hostile than he already was. For sure, there were a lot of soldiers who had witnessed him firing the submachine guns. But Aectaeon was confident that no one was injured from the gunfire. As for what happened afterwards, he had no desire to know.
It took more than a couple of minutes for Aectaeon to finally see the interior of the camp. Miraculously, during that time window, the pursuit against him was halted.
Aectaeon let the smile of satisfaction creep up his face. He looked at the man, standing on top of a tank, straight in the eye before giving a salute.
"Igor Vali reporting for duty, Commander!"
"First Lieutenant Vali! I welcome your return!"
And that was the confirmation that Aectaeon needed. A sense of pride welled up in his heart. The adrenaline was still rushing in his veins, making him want to be chased again.
"Everyone, I applaud all of you for acting on a possible invasion. You call all go back to your stations."
At his command, the soldiers made their move. On the other hand, the Commander beckoned for Aectaeon to follow him. They reached the middle of the camp in no time, arriving at a building reserved for the officers.
Once the door to the office was closed, Aectaeon abided for the Commander to take a seat ahead of making his way to the front of the desk.
"So, I believe that your return was scheduled by the end of the month. Seeing that you're here, it only means that something went wrong. Am I right?"
Aectaeon was aware that the mission wasn't successful. The problem was he didn't know what went wrong. He wasn't even sentient of the contents of the mission in the first place.
"Uhm, ah, well, you see--"
{{ Mini Mission }}
{{ Gain the Commander's Trust }}
{{ Reward }}
{{ A: Details of the Commander's Mission }}
{{ Penalty }}
{{ A: None }}
'Gain the commander's trust? Doesn't he trust me al--'
Aectaeon's contemplation was interrupted when he met the Commander's gaze.
'Ah, those eyes…' Aectaeon thought, trying to suppress his smirk, 'He's hiding his suspicions.'
"Is it something that you can't report to me?"
"No, it's nothing as such, Commander. However..."
All of a sudden, Aectaeon shut his eyes, feeling a wave of pain assaulted his body.
Once he opened his eyes, he immediately looked down and saw that his trousers were wet with blood. Although, it wasn't solely his trousers, his sleeves as well. At that point, Aectaeon remembered the fact that his ear had been wounded earlier.
Only then did the Commander notice Aectaeon's wounds, saying, "Pardon me, I didn't know that you were injured. Do sit down and I'll call for a medic."
The Commander stood up and went out of the room. Meanwhile, Aectaeon leaned back on the chair and was left to nurse the pain he was feeling.
When the Commander returned, Aectaeon straightened his body. He gritted his teeth as he attempted to look fine. When it came down to it, he was afore the Commander. He shouldn't strive to be disrespectful.
"Commander, I assure you that I will give a full report once I'm bandaged up. It's a tad difficult to sort my mind right now."
"Yes, that's fine. Take your time. You can go back to your room if you want." The Commander said while sorting the documents on his desk. "For sure, the others are waiting for your return. They have a lot of questions for you."
"If it's alright for you, I'd like to remain here. Giving my report is of utmost priority. I don't want there to be any further delay."
"I won't mind."
Aectaeon nodded and replied, "Thank you, Commander."
Merely the sound of papers being flipped resounded within the room.
Aectaeon kept his silence as much as he could, albeit wanting to grunt because of his aching wounds. He lowered his head and heaved a deep sigh.
{{ Mini Mission 'Reach the destination within the time limit' Failed }}
{{ Penalty will be imposed }}
{{ Deducting 02 D ; 00 H ; 00 M ; 00 S from player's 'Return Countdown' }}
{{ Countdown for the Return: 13 D ; 15 H ; 55 M ; 15 S }}
As he read the panels, Aectaeon couldn't help but heave another sigh -- one that carried his frustrations.
He clicked his tongue repeatedly ahead of muttering, "I should have just chosen the safest path. I wasted that great of an opportunity. But running away was the only option at that point. I was all alone in a foreign land. What should I have done?"
{{ Mission 'Gain the Commander's Trust' Accomplished' }}
{{ Reward will be imposed }}
Aectaeon wasn't aware that he had articulated his thoughts. Hence, the sudden appearance of the panels startled him.
'What accomplished? I haven't done anything.'
"It's my fault that I sent you alone. I didn't take into account that the Union will be invading us so soon." The Commander said sans looking at Aectaeon, "Honestly, I was about to order for your return, but we had to deal with the Union's forces here first."
"Oh, that, around five in the morning, there was a shootout near the barn. I believe that you've already heard of that. Several warships have been sighted adjacent to the eastern bay."
"There was a shootout?"
Aectaeon tilted his head to the side, asking, "You didn't know? It's been almost two hours. You should've received a report by now."
{{ Mission 'Report Incident' Accomplished }}
[[ You've completed a mission ]]
[[ Do you want to receive the reward? ]]
[[ Yes ]] [[ No ]]
Even though he was bewildered by the abrupt appearance of the Manus Celer Dei panels, Aectaeon tapped the 'Yes' icon.
[[ Player's progress: "_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ S : _ _ E _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ A _ _ _ _ N" ]]