Chapter 429: A Prudent Retreat

Scott looked at the newcomer and tapped the ash from his cigar.

"You’re new, aren’t you?" asked Scott.

"That’s right, sir," answered the young man, maintaining his posture. "This is my first week as an Executor. I was transferred from the base on planet Kyor III."

"I see..." muttered Scott, eyeing the violet armor. "So, can I ask what your orders are?"

"Of course, my orders are..." started the young man.

Before he could finish the sentence, his tactical tablet emitted a chime.

"One moment, please," excused the Executor, raising the device.

The screen flashed as it processed the biometric scan. The display identified the two targets, pulling up their profiles, threat classifications, and a red alert attached to the file:

TARGET IDENTITY CONFIRMED: TMC HIGH COMMAND. DIRECTIVE: DO NOT ENGAGE. RETREAT IMMEDIATELY.

The young man read the notification twice. His smile twitched for a fraction of a second as he lowered the tablet.

"It seems there has been a misunderstanding," said the Executor, bowing his head slightly. "I apologize for troubling you."

Without waiting for a response, the young man enveloped himself in a surge of violet lightning and shot into the sky. Seconds later, the massive Federation ship hovering above activated its thrusters and blasted out of the sector’s atmosphere, disappearing into space.

Stephen finished regenerating the muscle fibers of his limbs, stood up, dusted the ash off his shoulders, and looked at Scott.

"What do you think?" asked Stephen, stretching his newly formed arm.

"Do I need to say it?" replied Scott, taking a drag from his cigar.

"Please," said Stephen.

"It seems there will be changes in the command structure," explained Scott, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "They sent that old man here to die... and they want to use us as scapegoats."

"Looks like your conclusion is similar to mine," agreed Stephen.

"Is there any doubt about it?" remarked Scott, gazing up at the sky where the spaceship had fled.

"I heard something interesting a while back, but I didn’t think they’d put it into motion," said Stephen, straightening his posture.

"What did you hear?" inquired Scott.

"Have you heard of the Purge Plan?" asked Stephen.

"No, I haven’t," said Scott.

"The Purge Plan is an attempt by a new political faction to change the status quo," said Stephen, crossing his arms. "They are sick of the expansionist policies toward the Breach and humanity’s weakness. We’ve been losing colonies on other planets because of this, and the volume of resources obtained is getting lower every time. The amount of mana stones required to power the teleporters to the Breach is massive, so I heard we are facing a shortage. And with the loss of various planets, we no longer have an inflow of stones or cores. This has affected high-stakes interests, angering some of the largest forces. They are the ones sponsoring this new group. Do you understand what the Purge is about?"

"Do they want to assassinate the high command?" asked Scott.

"No. In my opinion, they want to engineer widespread discontent by displaying general revolt," analyzed Stephen. "I am certain they will frame this death as if we were revolutionaries fed up with tyranny. It wouldn’t surprise me if we got news that Alex, a new Platinum terrified of the old regime, went into hiding, and we, his companions and friends, protected him and rebelled in an act of protest."

Scott remained silent for a second, processing Stephen’s words, until a smirk formed on his face. He let out a dry laugh that echoed through the building’s rubble.

"Revolutionaries? Us?" laughed Scott, shaking his head. "Those bastards in the Council truly have a fascinating imagination. Painting us as heroes of the people tormented by tyranny, when in reality we just got rid of an annoying old man."

"Political narrative always requires a symbol, Scott," pointed out Stephen, adjusting his jacket as his regenerated skin finished settling. "If the populace believes a new Platinum and two veterans have rebelled, unrest in the colonies will skyrocket. They’ll use us as a flag without our consent."

"Then let them use us," decided Scott, taking one last drag from his cigar before tossing the ember onto Elder Vane’s ashes. "If this new faction wants to gift us the reputation of being the most dangerous ’rebels’ on the planet, I’m certainly not going to correct them."

"What are you suggesting?" asked Stephen, tilting his head with curiosity.

"Use that reputation to our advantage," proposed Scott with a cold smile. "While the Council and the Military think we’re busy leading an ideological ’revolution,’ they’ll be chasing a ghost. It will grant us cover to move without the constraints of their laws, gather resources across the border planets, and groom Alexander without those old relics from the regime sticking their noses in."

"Embracing the role of villains to secure absolute freedom..." mused Stephen, a glint of approval flashing in his golden eyes. "I like the sound of that. If they want a rebellion, we’ll give them a show they won’t forget."

"Exactly," agreed Scott, turning around to walk out of the ruined perimeter. "Let’s go find the kid. It’s time to let Alex know that, as of today, he’s the poster boy for a revolution he didn’t even know he started."

Stephen paused for a second before taking another step, glancing at Scott.

"Shouldn’t we wait for confirmation that this is indeed the plan?" cautioned Stephen.

"Let’s stay ahead of them," urged Scott, widening his smirk. "I place faith in your intuition, and it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s the case."

As soon as Scott finished those words, a chime rang out from both of their tactical phones. The alarm tone was an unusual, harsh ping that triggered during global emergencies.

Upon opening their screens, the holographic interface of the All-Seeing Eye materialized. The AI’s crimson iris flickered as it deployed streams of priority code.

"We have a critical situation," announced the AI, its robotic voice echoing through the devices. "Code 01 has been issued by the Federation. The TMC has been declared a rebel force with a Hazard Level of 1."

Scott slipped the phone back into his pocket, letting out a laugh as he stared into the horizon.

"On time," concluded Scott.