After returning from the dining hall, Hill sat quietly in his room, waiting patiently.
Hill wasn't in a hurry.
He believed that someone would come to see him eventually.
With a fleet of twenty-eight hundred soldiers, there had to be someone who wanted to know the truth.
When a former Federal Fleet investigator wasn't afraid to explore the truth, what did the participants, like them, have to fear?
They just needed some time to think.
Three hours later, there was a soft knock on Hill's door.
Hill opened it to find a young soldier standing outside.
The soldier seemed a bit nervous. Seeing Hill, he said, "Hello, Mr. Hill, I... I think I have something to discuss with you."
Hill tilted his head slightly. "Come in."
He welcomed the soldier into the room.
The soldier found a seat, took off his cap, and held it in his hands, which were trembling slightly.
Hill could tell that he was nervous.
He didn't immediately ask questions but instead went to pour a cup of coffee. Without using a robot, he poured it himself, then placed it in front of the soldier, saying, "Have a drink. If you don't mind, we can start with introductions. May I know your name first?"
As he spoke, Hill discreetly activated the recording function on the terminal.
The soldier nodded. "I'm Corporal Maxwell, a mech pilot on the Abradhi, sir."
"Hello, Corporal Maxwell. You can relax. Although our conversation isn't authorized by Captain Reno, it also hasn't been objected to by him, right? I believe we both have the freedom to do what we want," Hill continued to casually ease the corporal's tension.
Maxwell nodded. "I'm loyal to Captain Johnny Reno. Without him, I wouldn't be alive today. What I'm about to say isn't about betraying him; it's just that some things have troubled me for a long time. I can't understand them, and I'm seeking your help."
As Maxwell spoke more, he gradually relaxed, and his speech became smoother.
"I'm not sure if I can provide you with answers, but I'll do my best," Hill said. "So, let's begin. Where do you want to start?"
"If you're not in a hurry, I'd like to start from the beginning," Maxwell replied.
Hill made a casual gesture of agreement.
Maxwell cleared his throat and began, "I received orders to go to the Abradhi about six months ago. Before that, I was a mech pilot on the Hannibal, and I was transferred to the Abradhi because of outstanding performance. Initially, I didn't know what the mission was about. All I knew was that officers from various places were called in for concentrated training, all of them seasoned veterans who had fought in several tough battles, including Captain Reno. It was during that time that I met Captain Jeram, who was one of the most outstanding captains I've ever seen. He was highly skilled and astute, remaining calm no matter how dangerous the situation. I mean... he was a good captain, a very, very good one."
At this point, Maxwell's eyes flickered with sadness, nostalgia, and reluctance.
After a brief pause, he continued, "You may think I'm rambling, and you just want to know what happened at that time, but I have to say these things are important."
"I never thought they were irrelevant, Corporal Maxwell," Hill replied. "Feel free to speak. Whatever you want to say, I'm listening."
"Thank you," Maxwell said, his eyes showing a hint of gratitude.
He took a deep breath before continuing, "Captain Jeram was the best captain I've ever seen, and I admit that Reno was also outstanding; they were of the same kind. Brave, loyal, responsible. But because of this, I have always been unable to believe what happened at the beginning."
"Go on, leave the analysis to me," Hill said.
Maxwell continued, "We went through about half a year of joint training. During the training period, I was assigned to the mech team led by Reno and became one of his team members. After the integration, the Abradhi, along with the Autumn, Red Rain, Taurus, and Margo, set off to the Bojiang constellation to retrieve something from there."
"The relic?"
"Yes, but we didn't know at the time. Only Jeram and the other four captains knew the mission. Our orders were simply to bring back something called Target Zero."
"Go on."
"In the Bojiang constellation, there's an abandoned small asteroid, Planet X-356. It used to be the occupied area of the divine race and was abandoned during the Bojiang Battle. There's a collapsed temple there, and Target Zero was there. It was originally an object enshrined in the temple, buried deep underground by a antimatter annihilation cannon that wiped out all the divine race there. The research institute somehow found out about the existence of that relic, so they planned this operation. After arriving at the planet, Captain Jeram and the others searched personally and found Target Zero. They put it in a box and brought it back. But the divine race found out, and we started to be chased by them. Captain Jeram led us to fight and retreat. On the way, we encountered a merchant ship attacked by the Yark insect race. Although the situation was very critical at the time, Captain Jeram and the others decided to attack the insect race and save the people on the merchant ship. Because of this delay, the divine race caught up. Due to their use of interference waves, the fleet couldn't enter hyperspace, and we all fell into dire straits..."
As he spoke, Maxwell's voice lowered.
After a moment's pause, he continued, "At that time, there was gunfire everywhere, with the Divine Fleet's warships and the Yark clan's nests relentlessly pursuing us. The Margo was the first to collapse; it took hundreds of hits, but the fatal blow was from a focused energy cannon that hit its rear engine. The energy compartment malfunctioned and surged, eventually exploding... like a huge firework in space. Next were the Red Rain and the Autumn; the Red Rain's command hall was destroyed, and the Autumn's life support system suffered catastrophic damage. They lost over sixty percent of their combat power but still fought on. The mech team was like firefighters, rushing everywhere. Then came the Taurus; its energy shield ruptured, the engines severely damaged, losing its maneuverability. All the warships and the clan were targeting the Taurus. The Target Zero was on the Taurus at the time, and seeing the situation, Captain Jeram decided to send the mech team to retrieve the Target Zero."
"Reno's mech team?"
"Yes. We advanced amidst the Divine's firepower, with Yark clan's bugs everywhere. Reno charged ahead, facing the gunfire. I saw one mech after another explode beside me. It was terrifying. Finally, we managed to reach the Taurus, found the box, and some surviving soldiers on the Taurus. The Divine and the Yark clan swarmed like crazy, surrounding us."
He looked at Hill. "Can you imagine the scene? Enemies attacking everywhere. Just getting to the Taurus, we lost two-thirds of our mechs. We were so badly hit that we couldn't break out, and everyone was desperate. We all thought we couldn't get out. That's when Reno came up with an idea... he used the box containing the Target Zero as a shield, blocking in front."
Hill paused for a moment, then nodded. "That was indeed a solution."
Since those Divine were there for the relic, they wouldn't want to destroy it.
But the Divine wouldn't sit back and watch. With the return of the mech team, they would be anxious.
Indeed, the corporal said, "As we got closer to the Abradhi, the Divine saw no other way out and finally, regardless of the Target Zero, focused all their firepower on Reno. I think they would rather see the relic destroyed than let us take it away."
"Did they hit?"
"Yes. All the fire was directed at Reno. I'm not sure if they hit the Target Zero, but every part of the Silver Angel was exploding, with flashes everywhere. Just before entering the Abradhi, a shot hit the Silver Angel's chest directly, and the intense light at that moment was like a supernova... I was terrified, for a moment I thought he was dead."
"But he survived, and he entered the Abradhi alive."
"Yes."
"What happened next?"
"After that... that thing happened," the corporal muttered softly, his voice suddenly dropping.
"What thing?" Hill asked.
His heart pounded. He knew this was probably the key to everything.
After sobbing for a while, the corporal finally stopped.
He cried out, tears streaming down his face, "Mutiny! Captain Jeram staged a mutiny, betrayed everyone... he betrayed humanity, shot at us, trying to kill everyone!"
He screamed hysterically.
"Oh, my God!" Russell Hill felt like he was plunged into an icy abyss.