veilbreak | tverin 001

It's been a long day, so I'll keep this brief. Dust is clearing on the ground, and this is what we know:

1. 2 of the 3 large drones dispatched for the Sterilisation event has been shot down, along with numerous patrol drones. Instead of the total eradication of Xitang, it's only been partially leveled. This is a win.

2. There were no fatalities, although we had 90 injured. I want to commend our ground teams (Ground Forces, Espionage, volunteers) for your efficiency. The Veiled are being taken to and integrated into surrounding Pres Cities courtesy of Recruitment agents stationed in the area.

3. We have commandeered an additional freight plane which will be vital in future relocation efforts.

We still do not know what triggered this, but I want to stress how big of a win this is. We prevented a devastating loss. We've been a nuisance to the Architects, but this changes things.

Take this win. Celebrate it. And then get ready to double down. We're showing them we're a major player, and I can't imagine them taking this lying down.

LEADERSHIP.

Kudos on the rapid coordination. Expect blowback.

[...] Aldana, Payne. Present your case. I need you to get everyone on board before we go to the rest of the resistance with this.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If they are determined, I won't stop them.

Not sure you could even if you wanted to

This callousness doesn't suit you.

To be real clear I'm talking about myself

Have you lost your mind?

I've been awake a whole twenty minutes so I might be foggy, but other than that it's pretty clear

You're willing to volunteer for this?

Yeah, I am

Go back to sleep, Jackson. You're only proving my point.

Niko, I was a first responder for 15 years. Firefighters accounted for up to 90% of all line of duty fatalities. I put my life on the line every single day I woke up

I'm doing it already, and I'll keep doing it if it'll help save more people.

I'm going to set aside my personal feelings about your instinct for self-sacrifice — and why I find it so deeply frustrating, on a personal level, as your friend — for the moment.

While I am generally loath to assign greater 'value' to one life over another, experimenting on a department lead is the height of impracticality. Jackson, you're a highly trained agent who does far more good precisely where you are. I understand the desire to be helpful. I understand the optics, and the desire for this hypothetical project to avoid even the appearance of favoritism. But this is, quite frankly, a very stupid idea. And I will not support any version of this plan that allows senior members to volunteer themselves.