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

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.

Well said.

I'm beginning to think everyone has lost it.

I thought my bandwidth had been fried after all the hours in the plane, but no, it’s not me.

I have many reservations about this plan, but I do understand the rationale. Experimenting on leadership, however, is indefensible.

How many?

A handful, but they all ultimately come back to two concerns.

First: I know exactly the kind of person who steps forward when volunteering for something dangerous is presented as an option. It's never the secure or the well-adjusted. People who feel that not volunteering would be a moral failure are the ones who will step up, because they believe they are somehow obligated to atone for past sins by putting themselves in harm's way. See: Jackson. These are vulnerable people, and they shouldn't be allowed to martyr themselves. As a former recruiter, permitting these people to volunteer feels like a failure of responsibility toward them.

Second: This may sound overly paranoid, but I'm concerned about the precedent this sets with Adrián. We both know how he operates. He isn't heartless, but he can become dangerously single-minded in pursuit of a goal.

This is your area of expertise, not mine, but I don’t think any of what you’re saying re: recruiting onto something like this is unreasonable. I also don’t think Jax is going to find the self-validation he needs by putting himself in harm’s way like this.

Re Adrián: that’s why he has a squad of people to keep him in check. You most of all.

Philip, my boy. I think you mean you most of all. He's quite fond of you.

Edited 2026-01-30 21:29 (UTC)

Fondness is one thing. You are both constantly threatening to airlock each other and yet you have (so far) survived being roommates, which means your relationship is built from something that could probably withstand a nuclear blast.