The Scrap Tamer - Chapter 197

Chapter 197: Debrief: The Plea Of A Father

Reid and his team stood in the briefing room again, but this time, instead of just Colonel Evelyn, there was also commander Ajax.

Also, Owen’s wasn’t the only team in the room, there was also Daniel, the senior team seven had faced during the test.

Behind him was his own team, which consisted of Damian, Dean and for some reason Alex.

Since one of the team members had died, commander Voss had suggested Alex being transferred to that team…and again, the higher ups agreed.

This solidified Commander Ajax’s suspicion that one of the higher ups were also part of the cult Reid told him about, but who?

In the briefing room, there was also Commander Voss, Elizabeth and the being that made them all nervous, Null.

He stood by the side, calmly looking at Ajax as he spoke. Null wasn’t supposed to be here, since the mission details were confidential, a fact which Voss soon pointed out.

“With all due respect Commander Ajax,” he started with a frown on his face, “should this stranger be here when classified mission details are being discussed?”

He hadn’t met Null yet, so he had no idea who or what he was, he just knew that this stranger gave him the creeps and his presence here meant that he would be part of the mission.

That would just introduce a variable in his master’s plan and he couldn’t allow that.

Commander Ajax looked at him with a frown on his face, he also didn’t like that a stranger was here but the fact that Voss complained about it meant that Null was a variable in whatever his cult had planned with this mission.

“Null is Major Cross’s responsibility,” he responded, “and he’s supposed to be within her sights at all times.”

“But—” Voss wanted to argue, only to be reminded exactly why even though they were of the same rank, Ajax held more respect and fear.

A heavy pressure descended on his shoulders, pressing him down and cutting his words off instantly.

Commander Voss’s knees nearly buckled under the sudden weight as he broke out in cold sweat.

“I wasn’t finished, Commander Voss.”

Voss gritted his teeth, the pressure pinning him like a vice. “…My apologies, sir.”

He hated this, he hated how much weaker he was compared to most in this room. But he swallowed down that fact.

He had been promised power, he just had to impress the master enough to be granted his favor, so for now he swallowed it all down.

He couldn’t wait for the day when Ajax would be groveling down his feet, and that day would soon arrive, ‘just you wait.’

Ajax let the pressure fade just enough for Voss to breathe normally again, but not enough for him to lift his head yet.

“I don’t like this either,” Ajax continued, “but Null is a being neither I nor anyone understands and Major Cross’s decisions of keeping him insight at all times is the reason why he’s here.”

“If he stays within her supervision, he stays in this briefing, end of discussion,” he finished before letting the pressure disappear.

Ajax hoped that with this bit of information, the cult and they’d at least hesitate in pulling off whatever they planned, but he’d soon learn exactly how wrong he was.

“Now to why you’re all gathered here,” Commander Ajax turned back to the two teams, before he tapped the holographic table showing a land mass which got their curiosity, especially Reid’s since he hadn’t seen this land in any maps he had seen before.

“This continent is…was known as Africa before the eruption,” he started, “after the eruption due to the lack of aid when the Primals first attacked their lands, the inhabitants chose to isolate themselves from the rest of the world.”

That caused a frown to appear on the faces of the few in the room.

“And it remained that way for a few decades, until a few days ago.” Ajax continued, not addressing the expression on their faces, “a few days ago, we received a request of help from them.”

He tapped on the table again causing a figure to rise. From the looks of it, it was an old man, draped in a simple wrapper that seemed to be made from animal skin…but on closer inspection, they realized it was the skin of a primal, made to look regal.

The wrapper was tied across one of his shoulders, leaving the other exposed and allowing them to see the amount of tribal tattoos on the bodies of the the old man.

The man had a grave expression on his face and had both arms behind his back as he looked forward.

“It has now been decades, and once again we stand before you,” the old man began, his voice carrying the weight of an entire people. “My people have encountered a being we do not understand… one even our strongest warriors could not withstand.”

The pain could clearly be heard in his voice as he continued.

“Even my son, the strongest of our tribe, fell in the hands of this being,” he said before taking a small pause, swallowing his grief.

“So…” he exhaled slowly, as if the next words wounded him more deeply than the loss itself, “I have broken the laws set by my forefathers. I have cast aside the decree that our land must never again seek aid from the outside world.”

His expression hardened, his determination could be seen in his eyes.

“I come to you not as a chief, not as a warrior, but as a father. My people stand on the brink of annihilation. We have exhausted every strength and every safeguard passed down to us.”

He lowered his head, a gesture of humility no one expected from a man dressed in primal-hide regalia.

“So I ask you, outsiders… for the sake of my tribe and all the souls who still draw breath upon our land, lend us your strength.”

The hologram froze on the old man’s bowed head, the air in the room thick with the weight of his plea.