Admiral Igor rarely makes calls to Zeno headquarters, but the situation has become desperate.
???: Ah, Igor! How are things in São Paulo?
Admiral Igor: Worse than expected.
Admiral Igor: I have a small number of troops with me, but not enough to deal with the situation.
Admiral Igor: Things have gotten out of hand. At least one of the Apostles Brotherhood leaders has pledged allegiance to the Manus.
???: Tsk, Brotherhood? These new gangs just keep popping up, don't they? It's like cutting down sugarcane. Before you know it, another one's grown in its place.
Admiral Igor: Carlos has been murdered by his own subordinates. Even now, some of the deserters are with the Brotherhood.
Admiral Somme: ...
This news is met with a prolonged silence.
Admiral Somme: Did you catch them?
Admiral Igor: Some have already been executed. The rest will be transferred to headquarters for interrogation.
Admiral Somme: Good. What assistance do you require, comrade?
Admiral Igor: An army. A reliable one.
Admiral Somme: An army? I'm afraid that's not possible. We simply don't have the men to spare.
Admiral Igor: It doesn't need to be large.
Admiral Igor: Just dispatch my Sentinel Unit from Buenos Aires to São Paulo.
A loyal army led by the children he raised himself, composed of orphans of war born into Zeno's cause.
Admiral Igor: Or at the very least, send Ptolemy.
Admiral Somme: Ptolemy? Ah, one of your orphan "children." Hmm. That seems like a feasible solution.
Admiral Igor: Yes, his parents died fighting for Zeno. All my children are loyal to a fault.
Admiral Igor: Officer Carlos was shot in the head by one of his own men in this very office. I need soldiers I can trust.
Admiral Somme: Ah, so the fearless Igor is afraid of death, after all?
Admiral Igor: An officer was killed by his own soldiers at his own base. This is an immense stain on Zeno's honor.
How little honor they have left. Igor clings to it like a leaf to a tree in winter.
Admiral Somme: Indeed. If everything goes according to plan, you'll see your unit shortly.
Admiral Igor: Now, it's just a matter of time.
The admiral tosses the dice in his hand. Up and down, up and down.
He receives the same oracle—the same answer—like the inscription on the Behistun monument. It is eternal. Unchanging.
"His heart is a hanging lyre, a hanging lyre ... gently plucked ... "
An ancient verse rises in the old admiral's memory.
Dark omens. Ill prophecies. It is all whispered from his lips.
I have seen the hawk chase the dove and the sun god pull his golden bowstring taut.
I watched as the wooden horse was welcomed into our territories, and the sacred fountain flowed with the blood of the fledgling birds.
Ah, but a man of steely mind and lofty pride knows ...
That his city will endure. Its walls will stand strong. It will be as steadfast as the earth's core.
What wickedness ...
Now, the die is cast ...
The pale shroud will devour him, and he will be enveloped by the grim night.
Admiral Igor: All for a better future.
Admiral Igor: A better future for everyone ...
On this rain-soaked night, this is the only answer.
Moldir: Admiral.
Admiral Igor: Come in.
Moldir: Yesterday, we received word from the Timekeeper that Dr. Dores has been abducted by the Apostles Brotherhood. She should be coordinating with Lopera to set up a rescue operation as we speak.
She breathes a sigh of relief. The doctor may have been abducted, but at least the Timekeeper is safe.
Moldir: Also, that girl who escaped, Kimberly, is with the Timekeeper. She claims that she was released.
Admiral Igor: Just play along with her lie. There's no need to tell Lopera the truth.
Moldir: The Brotherhood has demanded that we exchange the detained deserters for the doctor. Forgive me for issuing instructions without your consent, but if we refuse or ignore them, I'm afraid they'll—
Admiral Igor: They'll execute the doctor.
He knows full well the ways of these thugs.
Admiral Igor: What arrangements did you make?
Moldir tenses up a little, unsure of how her father will react to her decision.
Moldir: I told the Timekeeper that Zeno reinforcements would meet her at the Veterans' Residence.
Moldir: Since Lopera is familiar with the place, I also asked her to scout out the rendezvous location.
Moldir: And, yes. I played along with Kimberly's lie. I-I assumed you would've done the same, Father.
Admiral Igor: Very good.
While the admiral refused to talk to anyone last night, his daughter had been modeling her actions after him.
Admiral Igor: Your squad will soon arrive. Take them to Lopera at the rendezvous point and bring the doctor back.
Moldir: A squad?
The admiral gazes out the window.
He scans the barren fort, the weathered stone, and the vines slowly wearing away at the walls. How did this come to be?
Admiral Igor: I've spoken with headquarters. All going well, Ptolemy and the unit will arrive soon.
Moldir's body relaxes a little, and a smile grows on her face.
Moldir: I see. I can hardly remember the last time we were all together.
Her smile turns bittersweet.
Admiral Igor: Your father died in Abadan, in a war he had no obligation to fight in.
Moldir: It's far more glorious to die in the throes of battle than to wither away on a sickbed. He made an honorable sacrifice.
Admiral Igor: How shameful that we would tarnish his honor.
Honor is a thing easily stained.
Admiral Igor: Let's begin with that young pilot, Lilya. Tell me, what do you think of her?
Moldir: She's well-trained, experienced, a straight shooter—similar to Lopera in many ways.
Admiral Igor: She's a true Slav. Just like my brothers and sisters back home.
Stubborn, loyal, brave, and as unshakable as the frozen Siberian earth.
Admiral Igor: I suppose she's luckier than Lopera. Not destined to become a traitor like her.
Moldir: Lopera's still a child, really.
The admiral closes his eyes as he remembers those who fought beside him.
Admiral Igor: So many lives have been lost, in wars, in the "Storm."
They have all been enshrined in the Hall of Merit at headquarters.
Admiral Igor: What do you think Lopera will do?
Moldir: She's your child, just like me. I think she will stand with us.
He smirks.
Admiral Igor: You "think," do you?
Admiral Igor: Anyway, she's not important. Here, take a look at this.
An invitation.
Admiral Igor: I will not wear it.
Admiral Igor: Nor will you. I promise you, not one of us will wear this thing.
Admiral Igor: The Preacher has given us a gift and shared with us an "oracle."
Admiral Igor: We will bring her something in return.
Admiral Igor: Fire and brimstone rained down from heaven, yet among the ruins we recovered the remnants of a miracle.
Admiral Igor: A miracle that is living, breathing, and growing.
Admiral Igor: I can sense THEIR life force. I can hear THEIR whispers from within these ashes.
A lucid dream, a living death, a perished immortality.
Admiral Igor: Moldir, THEY are invincible.
Admiral Igor: Rather than endlessly throwing young soldiers' lives to the White Stone House ...
Admiral Igor: I choose to stand with the true future.
Moldir: ...
Moldir: I will always stand with you, Father.
