The discussion raged on for a long while, everyone expressing their concerns. In the end, everyone came to the conclusion that there are too many topics to cover, and possible issues to try and handle all at once.
"The next speaker is… Captain Fornicus Tosetti."
"Ladies and gentlemen, with that, I close the discussion. I urge the technicians to switch over to the voting mode, as we will now vote for or against a few suggested ideas, before closing of the assembly. Any ideas you wish to submit, do it now, as we will begin shortly."
Fornicus now turned behind him, looking at Synnove and pointing his finger next to her. "Miss Synnove, could you pass me that stack of papers?"
Synnove leaned over and grabbed a red folder labeled 'CONFIDENTIAL', and passed it to Fornicus. He gently nodded, almost to say thank you, and turned back to face the assembly. He quickly scanned around the room, before he opened the folder. He sorted through the papers for a few minutes, until he placed the folder beneath his desk, and dragged out a laptop and opened it. He took a deep breath, and leaned a bit closer to the receiver's microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to pay attention. We begin voting with Proposal #01, submitted by Offense Corps fifth rank, Amaro de la Cruz. Mr. Cruz states the following…"
Fornicus opened a little box to his side, and grabbed what seemed to be reading glasses. Aiden couldn't help but giggle.
"I suggest that we reestablish contact with the CEO of Severance Industrial, to inquire on more defensive purchases. We have a contract with Vanguard Armaments, but, that is for weapons and offensive gear. In case of corrupted individuals, especially if we believe there is a risk of contamination, we need a hazmat-like set of armor that could be used when handling them."
"This proposal has been cosigned by five other officers already, whose votes will automatically count as yes." announced Fornicus as he dragged his finger along the laptop's touchpad and pressed a green button labeled 'Begin Voting'. "Voting begins now."
The overhead screen showed 21 blank face icons divided into 3 columns, and two icons which were grayed out, Fornicus who abstained, and Gabriel who isn't present. The icons began surging, some glowing green, others red. After a brief wait, he pressed the button again, although its label now changed to 'End Voting'.
Fornicus grabbed the 'CONFIDENTIAL' folder again, and opened it before jotting something down in a few empty spaces on the first page. "Voting for Proposal #01 is now closed. The item has been passed. Out of 21 possible voters, fourteen voted yes, five voted no, and two abstained. Proposal #01 passes with 73.68% approval rate."
And so, Fornicus hastily made way through plenty of inquiries and proposals, passing some and denying others. Most were about either the corrupted Essence issue, funds and spending or renovations. That is, until one very peculiar idea…
"Proposal #11, submitted by Offense Corps fourth rank, Khiara Al-Zaydan." he said, as he opened the suggestion on his laptop.
He stopped for a moment and readjusted his reading glasses, almost not being sure if he was reading this correctly. "Miss Zaydan states the following…"
"I suggest for the appointment of Aiden Silvius, son of Lieutenant Aldegar Silvius, as an honorary Offense Corps ranked officer. This would allow Mr. Silvius to act freely on his own accord, without having to consult us, which is highly meaningful considering repossession of him is the Cult's main objective. Other than that, as an honorary officer, Mr. Silvius would get access to useful tools Oracle officers have at hand, such as easy connection to other ranked officers, training facilities, assistants in case of need, and similar."
"Alongside Miss Khiara, this proposal has been cosigned by…" Fornicus stared at the screen with a sense of disbelief, or even more so, shock. "Nine other officers, whose votes will automatically count as yes. Voting begins now."
The screen again surged with the 21 icons, two of which are grayed out. Except, this time, no one's glowed red. Green, more green, and nothing but green. And once all the votes were confirmed, Fornicus ended the voting. He grabbed the 'CONFIDENTIAL' folder, wrote down the results of the vote, before beginning to speak.
"Voting for Proposal #11 is now closed. Out of 21 possible voters, nineteen voted yes, zero voted no, and two abstained… Proposal #11 passes with a 100% approval rate."
Aiden's eyes suddenly gleamed with a tone of bright surprise, as he leaned back in his chair and let his head fall all the way down. "Synnove," he said faintly. "I didn't mishear that, right?"
Synnove laughed at Aiden's antics, but recognizing his shock. "You definitely didn't…"
Aiden raised his head, and he locked eyes with Khiara, her face painted with a wide grin and her thumbs up in the air.
Fornicus quickly pulled up a file on Aiden to gather the necessary information. "Alright, then… With that, I suppose it's final. I, Fornicus Tosetti, as Captain of the Oracle, hereby accept this proposal and appoint… Aiden Silvius, born March 15th, 709 - Son of Lieutenant Aldegar Silvius, nephew of former Captain Ulrich Silvius, and grandson of former Defense Corps second rank, Alberich Silvius, as an honorary Offense Corps member. In official documentation, Aiden will carry the number of 8."
As Fornicus finished his sentence and lowered his reading glasses, and reached into his folder to stamp all his documents with the Oracle insignia stamp - the room erupted with a loud applause. Some officers, like Dr. Arroyo and Monique even gave Aiden a standing ovation.
Ingrid tapped Severo on the shoulder and whispered to him as the applause still echoed. "That boy. His will is stronger than iron, I swear it. Sooner or later, he won't be just a honorary officer, take my word."
As Monique sat back down, her mind reeled. "Was I right, Ulrich? He has the same determination you always had, but, can he live up to his potential?"
Arden joyfully laughed while applauding, a sense of pride burning in his chest. "To think I've seen with my own eyes how your mother treated you like a shit stain on white bedsheets, only for you to become stronger and more loved than she has ever been… Is that karma?"
Aldegar leaned over to Aiden, whispering in his ear. "You know, I expected Fornicus to be more reluctant about giving you honorary membership."
Aiden's eyebrow raised, and his expression became one of confusion as he leaned in, closer to Aldegar. "Why's that?"
"Well, Fornicus' great-grandfather, Ireneo Tosetti, was the first Captain of the Oracle. When the organization first formed, it was just a collection of strong power wielders, no where near as organized as today. He was chosen as the first Captain since he was the strongest of the group, and, as the Oracle grew, he established the three Corps with seven members - because the Oracle was firstly formed by a group of seven."
"I see," said Aiden as he peered over at Fornicus. He couldn't tell if he was upset or not, but, he certainly wasn't happy.
Fornicus removed his reading glasses, and packed up the 'CONFIDENTIAL' folder for the last time. "No more proposals have arrived, meaning, the general assembly is officially closed. To all officers, please, turn off your receivers and take your ID cards with you. Upon exit, stop by the front desk and leave your signature on the attendance list for archival purposes. Then proceed to leave by elevator in groups no larger than four. Thank you and goodbye."
He then turned behind to face Aiden, Synnove, and Aldegar who stood and went to the back to grab his sword from the hanger. "I need to stay behind, to finish filling out some paperwork for the archivists. Meet me tomorrow morning at 07:00 in my office, and I'll give you everything you'll need as a…" Fornicus stopped, and let out a deep sigh. "Honorary Oracle officer…" he said, with an almost condescending tone.
"Also, do not overestimate yourself, boy. The vote might have been unanimous, but, I'm still the one in cha-"
"Fornicus, calm down. He's rank eight, for crying out loud. He's definitely not going to be calling the shots." said Aldegar as he stopped Fornicus mid-sentence and firmly grabbed onto his shoulder, before staring directly into his eyes without even blinking.
He whispered into his ear as he leaned in with a stone-cold expression, his eyes fatally sharp. "Also, don't get all high and mighty with me. You remember damn well the last time we had a unanimous vote, and it was to promote me to Captain. You only stayed where you are because I didn't accept the promotion. So please, dial back the ego, especially around my son. Is that clear?"
Fornicus froze in place, only being able to usher out a few grunts and squeaks. He barely muttered a weak yes, before Aldegar tapped him on the shoulder reassuringly, a smile lighting up on his face as if nothing happened. "Alright, then. Catch you later!" said Aldegar, as he got down from the stand.
Aiden and Synnove soon followed, disregarding Fornicus, who was still reeling Aldegar's words in his mind.
They three were the last to leave, and after leaving their signatures on the attendance list, they got into the elevator.
"You really scared the shit out of Mr. Tosetti, dad." laughingly said Aiden. "What did you even tell him?"
"Oh, nothing. Just a friendly warning." he said reassuringly, and changed the topic before Aiden even had a chance to ask any follow-up question. "Come on, let's go get my car and head downtown. I'm sure this day has tired you all out."
Once they left the courtyard and stepped out in the parking lot, Aiden spoke. "You two go on ahead, but, I have something I need to take care of first."
"You shouldn't wander off alone, Aiden." Synnove pointed out with a hint of worry in her voice. "Last time you did, you got attacked."
"Yeah, but, I don't have the tracker on me anymore."
Aldegar sat in his car, and turned it on with the door still open. "What are you even planning to do? It can't be that urgent."
"Well, I don't know how urgent it is, but, I don't want to risk anything. I promised Benoit I'd help his sister, Nadia. Now that he's dead, the Cult has definitely stopped their help, if not worse. Mr. Solheim owns the apartment complex we're staying at, right? I'll ask him to give her a room, he should be more than understanding."
"Promise, you say…?" Aldegar's mind reeled back twenty years, his promise to Lukas. Recalling it made him sad, but, the fact Synnove is using Midori's body reassured him that the three of them are together in the Afterlife once more. "You should've said that sooner! You're just like me, you know, promising hard to accomplish stuff for the sake of others. But lucky for you, I'm more than ready to give you a hand…"