Bertolt: We were forced to retreat to the village. The brave soldiers who bought us precious time ... we must not forget their names.
Interrogator III: Understood, Lieutenant, submit a report later listing the fallen soldiers for Zeno to review.
Interrogator III: Their families will be well taken care of.
Bertolt sighs with relief, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Interrogator III: What happened next? What did you discuss with Lilya?
Bertolt: I tried to call for reinforcements. The base responded quickly, but transporting personnel and equipment takes time.
Interrogator III: Time. I see. Continue.
Bertolt: I briefed Lilya on the priorities of the mission.
Lilya: So, what's our next move? Are we hitting the skies or the slopes?
Bertolt: You should know what our mission is.
Lilya: To rescue the team members, and retrieve some mysterious arcanum documents when we get the chance.
Bertolt: Correct, but I need you to adjust the priorities of these two tasks.
Lilya: Huh? What's that now?
Bertolt: I mean you need to swap the order of these two tasks—prioritize the arcanum documents first, then rescue any stranded personnel if you happen to get the chance.
Lilya: You what?
Bertolt: She was surprised.
Bertolt: They may already be dead. How long has it been since your device has received a new signal?
Lilya: None. Radio silence since the first message.
Bertolt: I don't think the equipment is faulty, but it's been several hours since the last distress call.
Bertolt: Either they're pinned down somewhere and can't move, or they've met their tragic end.
Lilya: Do the others know about this priority switch?
Bertolt: No. They don't need to know.
Bertolt: Right as I said that, she punched me in the nose.
Bertolt: She had to do a little hop.
Bertolt: Tsk!
The officer staggers back, blood trickling from his nose.
She is stronger than she looks.
Lilya: Liar.
Bertolt: You really packed a punch with that one, little falcon.
Lilya: You don't trust them, and you don't trust me.
Bertolt: No, I trust you and Aleksei.
Lilya: And the others?
Bertolt: I trust their loyalty and their fighting ability.
Bertolt: But they don't need to know any of this. Neither does Aleksei, he'd tell everyone.
Lilya: As will I.
She clenches her fist, still wanting to land another blow on her superior's face.
Bertolt: No sacrifice will be made in vain, Comrade Lilya.
... You youngsters sure mature quickly when you've tangoed with death.
Interrogator III: In other words, your squad had two objectives at the time—to recover the arcanum documents and rescue the relevant team members.
Bertolt: Correct. This mission came directly from the admiral's office.
Hearing this, the interrogator turns and signals the clerk to leave the room.
Now, there's just one other person in the room.
Interrogator III: Let's talk about these documents, Lieutenant. What could possibly justify the sacrifice of so many soldiers to retrieve them?
He picks up the pen and waits.
Interrogator III: Please maintain your candor, Lieutenant. Speak.
Bertolt takes a deep breath and resumes his account.
Bertolt: My mission was to find and retrieve the descendants of an ancient arcanist family who were lost in the Central Asian region before the "Storm" arrived.
Interrogator III: Was the source of this intel reliable?
Bertolt: I don't know, but my orders were clear. Maybe it was some kind of deal between the higher-ups and "them."
Bertolt: Zeno's soldiers were deployed here as mercenaries, receiving compensation for their services.
Bertolt: Equipment, funds, personnel, access to local bases, and information about the arcanists.
Bertolt: In the wake of the "Storm," we were under immense pressure to rebuild the arms academy. To secure resources, we had to do questionable things that ultimately tarnished our name.
Interrogator III: Necessary evils. I understand. Go on.
Bertolt: In 1964, the French conducted an excavation at the ruins of Ai-Khanoum in the north.
Bertolt: It was an ancient Hellenistic city, lost under the sands of Inner Asia for nearly two thousand years.
Bertolt: Some of the artifacts were sent to Paris and some to the local museum. Then, war broke out.
Bertolt: After the city was occupied, a batch of documents was secretly smuggled out and hidden in the mountains.
Bertolt: Since the spring of this year, our people have been discreetly searching for these documents. And finally, we have a lead on them.
Interrogator III: Go on. What does this batch of documents contain?
Bertolt: Treasures of the Aegean Sea.
Bertolt: A family tree, maps, diaries, archives, and epitaphs belonging to a family of Western arcanists who settled in Central Asia.
It is an incredible adventure, spanning thousands of miles and over the course of two millennia.
Bertolt: Their forebears rode with the Macedonian god-king as he conquered the known world. After the king's violent death, they shifted allegiances among several successors.
Bertolt: When the one-eyed general triumphed in Gabiene, these fickle and war-loving veterans became part of his forces.
A volatile, unpredictable army. No wise man would ever grasp that blade without a hilt.
Bertolt: After that, the arcanists within the army were sent east with their old comrades, gradually fading into the mountains and the annals of history.
Bertolt: But they did not disappear. These bellicose descendants of arcanists later merged with the rising Sogdian tribes, and continued to thrive along the desert trade routes for centuries.
Bertolt: Chasing their ancestors' shadows, they stumbled upon the ancient city of Ai-Khanoum and set up a small arcanist commune nearby. But as fate would have it, the early century's penchant for war scattered them once more.
Bertolt: My mission was to track down and bring back the descendants of this tribe, with these documents serving as vital clues.
Bertolt: Zeno needs these arcanists.
The officer takes several gulps of hot water, seemingly anxious about revealing the truth.
Interrogator III: Have you told Lilya about all this?
Bertolt: Yes, she's in the loop, as I told you earlier.
Interrogator III: Okay. I see.
The interrogator presses a button under the table and the clerk steps back into the room, resuming her place.
Interrogator III: Continue, Lieutenant. What happened next?
Lilya: Are we really risking so many lives just for a few measly cottontails?
Bertolt: Eight hundred thousand lives were once sacrificed for just ten kilometers of land.
Bertolt: Though that's not quite the right comparison. That was a foolish battle.
Bertolt: Sacrifice is necessary if the result is worth it, little falcon.
Lilya: Are you willing to sacrifice yourself?
Bertolt: I am.
The officer pulls out his gun without hesitation, prepared for what he knows is coming.
Lilya: What do you want me to do now?
Bertolt: Just understand the priorities of our mission, and never forget them.
Lilya clenches her fists and spits on the floor.
Lilya: Yes, sir.
Bertolt: I understand your frustration, but a mission is a mission, and orders are still orders.
Bertolt: Besides, we need to think about what to do next. We have a lot of wounded to take care of.
Just then, Aleksei bursts through the door, eyeing the two from a distance.
Aleksei: Sir! You're bleeding! And what's with the gun?
Bertolt: I fell. It was nothing.
Lilya: Yeah. Fell onto my fist.
Aleksei: Uh, what?
Bertolt: Don't worry about it. What's the matter, Aleksei?
He tucks his gun into his coat and wipes the blood from his lip.
Aleksei: Earlier, Hassan mentioned herbs in these mountains that can stop bleeding. Maybe I can go find some.
Bertolt: It's too dangerous to go alone. Besides, you don't know the lay of the land.
Lilya: I can come.
Hassan: What are you all talking about? Let old Hassan in on it, eh?
Aleksei: Hassan should know the way.
Hassan: Way? What way? I'm not catching your drift.
Lilya: Aleksei and I are thinking of fetching some herbs. We're running low on medicine.
Hassan: Hmm, that could work.
Lilya: You know these mountains well?
Hassan: Like the back of my hand! I was scampering about these slopes before I could even talk!
Aleksei: That settles it! Let the three of us give it a try, sir!
The officer hesitates.
Bertolt: Having more helping hands would've certainly made things easier, but the war and the "Storm" have cost us dearly.
Bertolt: I had planned to wait for reinforcements before moving out, but time was ticking, and dusk was closing in.
Bertolt: Spending the night there was out of the question, so I gave these brave soldiers the permission to go.
Bertolt: ...
Bertolt: Alright, you have two hours.
Bertolt: Get back before the sun sets behind that mountain, or you're on your own.
Bertolt: How are the wounded, Aleksei?
Aleksei: We've done all we can. I gave the last of the medicine to the others, and now I have an empty box that can hold a lot.
Lilya: What are we waiting for? Time's a-wasting, fellas!
Hassan: Just the three of us, ready to take on the world! Stay tuned for our epic success, haha!
Bertolt: Bring your radar, Lilya. And if you happen to come across our lost comrades along the way, retrieve them.
Lilya: You got it!
Bertolt: They set off, and I was left there to wait. To wait for reinforcements, for their return, or perhaps for the enemy's vengeance.
He calmly lowers his head and pauses for a moment.
Bertolt: Before long, I went looking for them. As soon as I heard gunshots on the road, I followed the sound with our men, but it was too late.
