The misty canopy of the forest blocks out the scorching tropic sun above, leaving the ground perpetually shaded and wet.
Major Kasyan: ...
Major Kasyan gently brushes a freshly engraved tombstone.
Major Kasyan: My dear Antosha, who could have thought this day would come? You always said you'd be the second in our class to become a major.
Lopera: Carlos was a malparido—a swine of the worst kind.
Major Kasyan: He put too much faith in brute force. He used Zeno's bullets and arcanum explosives to get his way, never expecting they could be turned against him.
Major Kasyan: Many of our soldiers here are local recruits. They were caught between their loyalty to their communities and their loyalty to Zeno. Carlos pushed them too far.
Lopera: Did they kill him before he launched the operation?
Major Kasyan: Yes, he never got to give the order. Perhaps that's a good thing. I think if we had gone through with it, all of São Paulo would have turned against Zeno—not just the Apostles Brotherhood.
Lopera: I knew that list was fishy from the start.
Major Kasyan: Choice words, Lieutenant, but I also found concrete evidence in Carlos's files.
Major Kasyan: The informant was a retired veteran from Rio ... Rodrygo.
Lopera: ...!
Lopera: It was him.
Immersed in his story, the major doesn't take notice of Lopera's shock.
Major Kasyan: That's right. I suspect he fabricated the entire list.
Major Kasyan: Like you said, they were all just ordinary people. Some might have had occasional dealings with the gangs, but you know how it is in São Paulo. Such situations are hard for the common folk to avoid.
Major Kasyan: I can only imagine the hell we could have unleashed if we had gone after them.
Major Kasyan: As for asking Zeno to retrieve Sandro from the Brotherhood, I guess that was his condition for acting as an informant.
Lopera: But Zeno would have eventually found out he had given them false information. Why would Rodrygo risk himself like that?
Major Kasyan: I guess he hoped that Sandro would be free and clear before we found out. A man like Rodrygo could get away from this place a thousand different ways.
Major Kasyan: If I were to speculate on his actions from a more negative perspective ...
Kasyan casts an apologetic look Lopera's way.
Major Kasyan: I'd wager he was using you to snatch Sandro from the Brotherhood's grasp, then he'd have shot you in the back of the head on the way back. I guess you were too smart for that, though.
Major Kasyan: Bang ... Then Rodrygo and Sandro would have disappeared forever into the rainforest.
Lopera: ...
The humidity rises to a suffocating level. They don't hear the approaching footsteps.
Admiral Igor: Major Kasyan, Lieutenant.
Lopera: ...!
Major Kasyan: Admiral!
The major raises a perfectly-drilled salute among the tombstones.
Gray eyebrows, gray-blue eyes, and gray-brown tombstones ... Amid these, the girl, who usually burns with a fiery glow, seems almost dimmed.
The old admiral bows his head in mourning. Major Kasyan quietly steps away.
Lopera breaks their silence.
Lopera: Father, it was good of you to come to São Paulo.
She remembers the day—the moment that a fully armed transport helicopter landed with exact precision on the base's helipad.
The lines of loyal Zeno soldiers in formation, saluting up toward the hatch with reverence.
Admiral Igor: I haven't had time to talk with you since coming to São Paulo. Our late General Carlos left me in a mire worse than any Brazilian swamp.
Admiral Igor: We must start over. São Paulo's garrison will be integrated with my own personal guard. This should simplify matters.
Lopera: Hmm.
Lopera doesn't think too much about the details. Her father's military wisdom and character stand unquestionable in her mind.
And she has a long way to go before she can match her father in any of these respects, especially with another mission all but failed.
Lopera: Father.
Admiral Igor: Spit it out.
Lopera: I didn't bring Sandro back. I failed my mission.
Admiral Igor: Sandro.
He speaks the name dryly. It clearly holds no significance to him.
Admiral Igor: You misunderstood your orders.
Lopera: Hm?
Admiral Igor: When you reported to me over—whatever that device was—I ordered you to return to base, not to find Sandro.
Lopera: You didn't want me to find him?
The admiral doesn't reply to her, offering only a rise of his gray brow.
Admiral Igor: You were with Rodrygo then, yes?
Admiral Igor: Allow me to tell you about this man.
Admiral Igor: While deployed in Rio against the cartels, he failed a crucial mission. His identity was exposed. And as a result, his children were kidnapped.
Admiral Igor: They demanded the names of his fellow operatives. He traded them a list for his son, Sandro, but something happened. Their deal fell through, and his daughter was killed.
Lopera: And his fellow operatives ...?
Admiral Igor: A total bloody tragedy, like hell. They were massacred. I'm told there wasn't enough left of them for identification.
Admiral Igor: He deserted his post and quietly made his way to São Paulo. He took the boy with him, but hid him away.
Admiral Igor: It is a pity he died. He might have been a valuable witness.
Lopera: I—
The thick, humid mist fills Lopera's lungs, stifling her words.
The admiral turns away from the rows of tombstones, his demeanor comforting in a way strange and unfamiliar to them both.
Admiral Igor: It was a necessity of war. You had to protect your comrades.
Admiral Igor: I worry your impulsive nature clouds your judgment. Yet on that day, when you had the choice to kill your father, you chose wisely. Self-control, Lopera; this is what I expect from you.
Lopera: I-I'll try to ... control myself.
Her father's hand falls on her shoulder, brushing away her despair like dust.
Admiral Igor: For an arcanist, it is a long and bitter road.
Admiral Igor: But for a soldier, it is nothing. A soldier's career is spent making up for their own failures.
Admiral Igor: Failure is expected, but one's legacy may be decided in only a few key victories.
Admiral Igor: A Manus Vindictae base destroyed, valuable prisoners captured, and supplies seized, each of these victories will aid us in our future operations.
Admiral Igor: I've always been proud of you, Lopera.
Hot tears well up in her eyes, but she holds them back stiffly.
At most, she lets out a sniffle.
Admiral Igor: You are to remain on base for the next few days, rest, and wait for the Timekeeper to arrive in São Paulo. Perhaps you might make some new friends.
Lopera: Uhn ...
Lopera: Father.
Admiral Igor: What is it?
Lopera: You'll set things right in São Paulo, won't you?
Admiral Igor: I won't let those who trampled on our loyalty and honor go unpunished.
Admiral Igor: Zeno is a great and indestructible army. And we are an unbreakable family.
Admiral Igor: I will never betray this army or my children.
The admiral scrapes a leaf off his boot against a dew-coated rock.
Lopera: I trust you, Father.
Lopera looks up, only able to see her father's towering shoulders.
