For those who did not see the my comment from yesterday chapter, That Little Box that said I was gonna end etc was just an April Fools Joke Check out the comments.
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Colonel Banks's silence lingered in the room as North waited nervously for a response. The air was thick with tension, and North could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the Colonel spoke. His voice was measured, his face impassive as he addressed North.
"Lt. Colonel North, You come from a well-respected family. You are also one of the most talented soldiers of your batch." Colonel Banks leaned forward, fixing North with an intense gaze. "So tell me, why do you lie?"
North's fear grew with each passing second, and he could feel the sweat on his palms. He lifted his head to meet the Colonel's gaze, hoping to convey his innocence. But the moment their eyes met, he knew it was futile. The Colonel saw through him, and his heart sank.
"Colonel Banks... That's not possible," North stuttered, his voice barely above a whisper. His mind raced as he tried to come up with a plausible explanation for the situation.
The Colonel's face remained expressionless, but North could sense the suspicion in his voice as he spoke. "There is no record of such a mission ever existing, and I'm sure I would remember giving such an order. After all, don't you understand the hierarchical structure of the military?"
North felt a cold sweat break out across his forehead. He knew the stakes were high, and he had to defend himself. "Sir, that's not possible. We got the mission, the Majors, and Captains in my battalion can back me up on this."
Colonel Banks leaned back in his chair, seemingly lost in thought. The silence in the room was suffocating, and North could feel his pulse racing. He knew he was in deep trouble, but he also knew he had to stick to his story.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the Colonel spoke again. His voice was low and threatening, and North could feel a knot forming in his stomach.
"And why did you order the soldiers to fire? Out of the 400 soldiers you had taken, almost 20 soldiers lost their lives, nearly 50 became disabled and will have to permenently to retire from the miltary, and 30 soldiers suffered minor wounds. Do you not understand how serious this is?"
North felt a wave of nausea wash over him as he realized the severity of the situation.
He knew he had made a mistake, but he couldn't let his career, and his life, slip away without a fight. "Sir, I...I had no choice. We were met with an Unknown Entity, and I had to protect my men from it as I didnt know its intentions."
Colonel Banks's face was stern, and North could tell that he was not convinced.
"You will not only lose your rank, but you will also get dishonorably discharged from the military itself and face a long sentence in prison.
Your family's Influence will not be able to save you from this, and I will make sure of that.
This is a stain on my clean reputation as you are a soldier under me who has caused such casualties on your own men, and even I will also come under fire for this.
So you better have a good explanation for this." The colonel spoke strictly staring at The Lt. "So you better have something to back this ridiculous claim of yours"
North felt the weight of the Colonel's words as he stood there, feeling utterly helpless.
He knew the consequences of his actions and the magnitude of the situation he was in.
The weight of his actions was suffocating him, but he tried to remain composed and focused on defending his actions.
North's Mind raced as tried to think of a way to prove his words.
"Sir, Colonel Banks, there is video proof of tbe events" North spoke, his voice trembled with a mix of fear and hope, desperately clinging to any evidence that could prove his innocence.
His mind raced back to the video recording that was always required to be activated in the soldiers body cam during a search and Rescue mussion, a ray of hope in the midst of chaos for North.
Maybe, just maybe, it could save him from the devastating consequences that awaited him. Colonel Banks remained silent for a moment, his piercing gaze fixed on North, as if trying to read his thoughts.
Then, he nodded, "Bring me the video", his voice low and dangerous "And it better be convincing."
North simply nodded heavily and walked out of the office of the Colonel, he felt a sudden rush of hope and relief, but it quickly dissipated as he realized the enormity of what lay ahead.
His career, his reputation, and his family's honor hung in the balance, and he was relying on a video recording that may or may not even be able to justify his actions.
Back on the Mountain He was shocked and surprised to see such an Entity fly out of the Cave, it felt truly Alien and he did what he thought would be the best for mankind.
That was to capture such a Entity.
It had a Metalic type exo-skeleton that looked just like a human and it used flames to somehow propel itself to fly at such high speeds.
A Human could never create such a thing that was for sure, and If a human managed to create such a thing then it would have been known by the Goverment for sure, is what he had thought when he saw James fly out of the cave and float in the air.
He couldn't help but feel a sense of regret and frustration, with thoughts such as ,What if I just left that thing alone?, Why me? I was just thinking about Humanity's safety? floating all around in his head as he rushed to find his body camera.
Meanwhile, Colonel Banks sat in his office as he let out a sigh and leaned back on the chair as the light shone in his office through the Windows
lost in thought as he tried to make sense of the events.
The fact that there was no data of the mission in their database was troubling, and it left him wondering if their systems had somehow been compromised.
He knew that this was not just about North's fate, but also about the integrity of the entire military system.