- Oliver -

  "What happened in the Ninth Wave?" Oliver asked.

  Nico felt his mouth go dry upon hearing the questioared ily at his drink while thinking about how to tell the story.

  "The Ninth Wave was the easiest we've ever had," Nico said, mimig the army's propaganda.

  "They wereirely wrong. We finally had enough onry to fight the Orks head-on—tanks and mechs capable of fag the horrors they brought to the battlefield," the mentor expined. "pared to the other waves, it was true. But it doesn't mean we had fewer fierce battles or fewer disasters happening."

  Oliver he army still expi this way today—that the st waves were simple to defend, with almost no losses.

  "At that time, I had just graduated as a Ranger. I rodigy, the best in my css. Every mission I was sent on was a guaranteed success," Nico expined. "I felt invincible, and in a way, I was—or rather, I am."

  He sighed as he recalled his experiences. Before tinuing, the mentor took one of the ice cubes from his drink and started pying with it oable. He tried to calm himself and avoid the feelings he was experieng.

  "My fame and success had goo my head, although I was a good person. I think," Nico tihe story. "I believe I told you about my experience when I evolved; back then, I was stantly evolving, always increasing my power, and because of that, I was sent on increasingly difficult missions."

  "On that p, I made my biggest mistake during that mission. My squad and I were called for an emergency; at the time, we didn't yet have ielr teleportation. So only my ship was close enough to help," Nico tinued. "I don't even remember whiet it was. However, we desded to one of the ies; Orks would attack them in the few hours. We knew which attack squad would approach them; there was no ce that y would survive or that we could even defend it."

  Oliver couldn't imagihe level of the Orks' power, to the point that Nico's squad could not defend the base.

  "All we could do was evacuate as quickly as possible. However, as quickly as possible wasn't quiough," Niented. "It was aire city, tens of thousands of people, yet a good part of the popution still o be vacated. That's when we received the order to evacuate immediately; we were to leave the locals aurn to our ship."

  "Fuck," was all Oliver could say.

  "The order came from someone much higher up. To them, the p was lost; even if some escape ships fled, they would possibly be shot down by the Orks in orbit," Nico expined. "However, I was corrupted by my power and desire to save those people—to be the hero."

  Nico lowered his head aed it in both hands. His voice became choked with eaew word he spoke; his throat was dry.

  "heless, I went against orders and stayed on the p. M-my squad and I faced the Ork attack line, ae troop set up to carry out a quick attack," Nico tinued. “Kid, I've already told you, that fight we had today doesn't even pare to experienced Orks. Those whose skin has already turned red—those, those are real monsters.”

  "I hope you never have to enter an Ork like that during your time with the NEA. But let me crify: a good Ork is a dead Ork. There's no middle ground with them. They are sadistiimals." Nico's hands trembled as he expined.

  "The moment one of them realized I couldn't die—" Nico paused, his voice shaking. "He tore off my arms and legs, pinned me against a wall."

  Tears streamed down the Ranger's face.

  "He made sure I was alive to withe massacre. He killed my rades—more than two hundred Rangers—in front of me. But not before slowly t them and raping the women who remained iy and the squad." Oliver could feel Nico's energy emanatih his skin. His emotion of hatred was so pure that the mentor seemed to have lost trol over his powers. However, as quickly as the energy began to flow, it stopped.

  "Each of thers stayed because of my order. Even if it was the right thing to do to save civilians, Rangers are rare and difficult to train; many others had to die and suffer during the Ninth Wave because of a terrible decision," Nico sighed, finishing reting his experience.

  Oliver didn't know what to say, partly because he didn't fully grasp the gravity of Nico's experience.

  He believed that Niistake was human but uood that his decision had cost the lives of all his colleagues and panions. At the same time, he had saved the lives of thousands of civilians.

  Nico took another sip of his drink; the ice that had been oable had already melted.

  "Because of this i, I was dishonorably discharged from the h Army and became damaged goods to the Houses. No one wants a mad dog who disobeys superiors' orders, especially during a war," the mentor expined.

  "Damn. I don't know what to say," Oliver ented. "Today, I believe you made the right decision. That was your view of what a Ranger should do—put their life on the lio save civilians."

  "But that's not what everyohinks, even within my squad," Nico replied.

  "Aaaah," Oliver sighed, pting the difficult decision.

  'If it had been me, would I have abandoned or stayed?' He didn't know. His instintil now was to focus on surviving, but at the same time, he had rushed to save Katherine when he saw her falling into the river.

  The boy patted the mentor's shoulder, some support.

  "But how did your reputation bee so tarnished?" Oliver asked.

  "Upourning and being discharged, the NEA pced all responsibility for the operation on my shoulders. Then they just let the public bee ed, especially the Rangers' families." Nico expined.

  Oliver had already withe NEA's political maneuvers and uood that he would only be protected while he was in their good graces or remained useful. The moment he slipped, he would be discarded.

  This whole sario diminished his desire to bee a Ranger even more.

  Nico breathed more easily after getting the story off his chest; Oliver was the first person he had told about what happened sihe iigation cluded.

  The two sat silently for a while, just the bar, the people around them, and a group of old men arguing over a card they had found.

  "Have you thought about which division you want to join?" Nico asked.

  "What do you mean?" Oliver didn't quite uand the question.

  "Kid, you have the potential to bee a Ranger. Without a doubt," Nico expined.

  "Right. But what's the deal with the divisions?" Oliver asked.

  "Hmm, maybe they'll only teach you about this ter?" Nico wondered aloud. "There are five divisions: Red, Blue, Yellow, Bck, and Pink."

  Oliver nodded; up to that point, he uood.

  "Each division has a different fun. Red is assault. Blue is researd reaissance. Yellow is logistid supplies. Bck is defense, and Pink is medical."

  "Oh!" Oliver finally grasped it.

  Until that moment, he hadn't known there was any e between the divisions and their responsibilities.

  "But should I already be thinking about this?" Oliver asked.

  "Absolutely!" Nico expined. "At the end of the three months, if you're selected, you'll be evaluated based on the specialties of each division. Depending on your score, you may choose one or more divisions, but in many cases, your evaluation will only allow you to access a specific division."

  "Right," Oliver replied, thinking about which division would be best for him.

  "Kid, do you still io find out what happeo your parents?" Nico asked.

  Oliver looked down at the table and thought deeply. He had already made peace with the past; he had tried tet about the First Wave. He was no lohe Oliver who had lived in Seoul.

  At least, that's what he told himself. But the moment Nico touched on this wound, a dormant desire rekindled within him. He wao know where his parents were and what had happeo them.

  "I-it's been over a hundred years," Oliver said in a low voice. "What are the ces?"

  "That's not what I asked," Nico replied. "Do you want to know what happened?"

  "Y-yes. I do," Oliver answered firmly.

  "Thehis information wisely. This is my st gift before you return to the academy," Nico expined. "Although all divisions should be equal, with the same powers and influence, iy, it's not quite like that."

  Oliver nodded, beginning to uand what Nico was getting at.

  "Some divisions have more political influehan others. If you ask anyone in the academy, y pert will say they want to be part of the Reds," the mentor ented.

  "They're n; it's the best decisiarding career, influence, and power. Obviously, this makes them arrogant, real jerks. But if you truly want to find your family or discover what happeo them, your best ce is undoubtedly with the Reds," the mentor expined.

  "You o be a Red Ranger."

  GCLopes