WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 335: Sunlit Shade (2)
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Gyeoul had deliberately left extra time before the appointment, and until Jin-seok arrived, he handled his work as acting base commander. If he wanted to have his duties down before going to D.C., he had no choice but to make diligent use of every spare moment.
The increased administrative work was also one reason the audience from the outside world had been shrinking lately. It had been a long time since he had distanced himself from their crude clamor, but he could guess from the volume of unidentified logs he occasionally saw, and from the number of stars embedded in his private dark void each day. It was probably boring.
Gyeoul was not especially concerned. The balance on his Afterlife Insurance secured loan was almost gone. Of course, as the repayment amount decreased, the day he would fully pay it off was drifting a little farther away, but only by a month or two at most. As long as he did not die right away, he had little to worry about.
In some ways, that might have been for the best. Once the debt disappeared, Gyeoul would have no reason to keep his afterlife public. The only thing that bothered him was the desperate people whose own lives were so unhappy that they were trying to dream through someone else's afterlife.
'Cheon Jong-hun... He's probably still watching.'
The man who had come all the way to the ossuary just to see Gyeoul, like a fish in a drying puddle. It had been hard to coldly ignore someone who had come so far. Even now, the sight of him sobbing remained vivid.
If this afterlife broadcast stopped, what would happen to that man?
By the same token, among the audience that had shrunk but was still large, there might be others in a similar situation. Gyeoul did not want to be complicit in the suicides of anonymous strangers.
After a moment, Gyeoul gave a bitter smile. This was not an immediate problem, so he could afford to think it over more slowly. He tapped at the keyboard and logged into his military secure mail account. There were materials and approval items he had requested as acting base commander.
When he opened his inbox, he found a pile of new mail waiting. Gyeoul clicked the document that caught his eye first.
Elijah Campbell.
There was something unclear about this Major from the Medical Service Corps, assigned to a potential turning point in the quarantine war. So Gyeoul had requested access to Campbell's personal information. The reply had come back faster than expected. Especially for a photocopied document stamped in red with a classified seal.
The contents, however, fell short of expectations.
'There doesn't seem to be anything worth noting.'
Then again, if Campbell had caused enough trouble to be recorded in a military personnel file, they would not have been assigned to an important mission. No matter how short the army was on high-level talent these days, among the Medical Service Corps personnel made up of doctoral-level medical specialists, there had to be someone who could replace Campbell.
The religion section he had been looking for also said only Christian.
Gyeoul closed the file, interlaced his fingers, and sank into thought.
When he had mentioned Hwangbo Esther's name, Campbell had not immediately realized who the girl was. Even so, the displeasure Campbell had instantly shown was almost certainly a rejection of the name Esther itself. Something like, "I don't like that someone who believes in a heresy took a name from the Bible." In other words, there was a strong chance Major Campbell's faith was close to fundamentalism in principle.
Campbell's attitude when confirming Esther's death had been suspicious too. The strong affirmation had felt very deliberate. At minimum, either there was some other background to that death, or Esther was still alive and Campbell had lied for some reason. The 「Perception」 that had activated through correction back then added weight to his suspicion.
But he could not interrogate Campbell recklessly. Department of Homeland Security Branch Director West had already shown more than enough sincerity.
With lingering regret, Gyeoul closed the file and selected the next email.
This time, too, the contents were information on a specific person.
Captain Markert.
This racist, originally the senior company commander of Camp Roberts, could no longer be found in the current Fort Roberts. Gyeoul had not paid him much attention either. Whether Markert's assigned unit had changed or he had been dispatched somewhere else, Gyeoul had considered it none of his business. He was also the kind of man it was better not to see. Wouldn't even exchanging salutes with him be unpleasant?
But as the next base commander, Gyeoul came across his name again in an unexpected place. A joint complaint submitted from the Chinese residence district. The charge was rape.
The email Gyeoul received had been sent by the judge advocate handling the case.
「Please understand that, due to a heavy backlog of hearings, processing of Lieutenant Warner A. Markert's case will inevitably be delayed. The first trial is scheduled to be held in three months. Until then, the list of persons of interest and witnesses may be updated. As cooperation with military administration, Lieutenant Markert's personnel file is attached...」
When Gyeoul opened the file, he confirmed that Markert had been demoted at the start of the year. Since the man had plenty of reasons for that, it was not surprising.
'Currently, he's the head of a guard post on the old blockade line. Even the assignment itself is strongly punitive.'
It was an obvious demotion. Even if his post was technically the same as before, company commander, the troops he commanded were third-line guard forces that could not be sent to the front. Search results showed the assigned headcount also fell below 50% of authorized strength. Their work amounted to inspections and searches of transport convoys. He must be feeling tremendous self-loathing, but his fall had only just begun.
It was not a major case, but it still left a strange feeling.
After Gyeoul opened five more documents, a knock sounded.
"Lieutenant Park Jin-seok."
"Come in."
Jin-seok opened the door and entered, then gave a crisp salute and stood at attention. Gyeoul finished reading the document he had been viewing, looked away from it, and spoke to Jin-seok.
"I think you know why I called you."
"Have you decided who will become the 1st Company commander?"
Instead of answering, Gyeoul took captain's rank insignia from the drawer and quietly placed them on the desk. Jin-seok's breathing faltered as he watched. Gyeoul could see him clench his jaw to control himself. Even so, strong emotion showed in his eyes. Had he wanted this that badly? Gyeoul watched him in silence, then folded his hands and calmly adjusted his posture.
"Before I promote you, there's one thing I want to ask."
"...What is it?"
"If necessary, could you shoot a person?"
His voice was calm, but the question was anything but ordinary. Naturally, Jin-seok was flustered.
"Why are you asking that...?"
"Because I have to."
"Are you saying that if I become company commander, I may have to kill people?"
"Hmm. Let's say that could happen. Though the possibility is low."
After thinking it over, Jin-seok revised his question.
"If it's all right, could you give me more detail?"
"This is something that absolutely cannot leak outside."
"As you know, I can keep my mouth shut."
After a pause, Gyeoul slowly nodded.
"That's true. If I want an accurate answer, I need to tell you. Before I left Sacramento, Blockade Commander General Terrence Schroeder told me a coup might happen."
"A coup? You mean a military rebellion?"
"It's only a possibility. It's not as if the White House or the Department of Defense are blind, and the other intelligence agencies wouldn't have their eyes and ears shut either."
Even after he added that qualification, it did nothing to ease Jin-seok's deepening bewilderment. No matter how low the probability was, it would be hard to brush off a warning from an army general. On top of that, Terrence Schroeder had far more authority than other generals. The lieutenant on the verge of promotion asked again, cautiously.
"What does that have to do with our unit?"
"Unfortunately, it does have something to do with us."
"..."
"You already know that the mainland reclamation commemorative event will be held in Washington D.C. in October, right? The one the press is calling the triumphal ceremony. Everyone who belonged to the independent company has been invited to that event. This is assuming a rebellion really happens, but it means we would be at the center of the incident at the most dangerous moment. As a fully organized company with a chain of command."
Jin-seok's gaze lowered.
"Even then, we're only a company. Would that really mean much?"
"I felt somewhat the same, but after discussing it with Department Head Min, it turned out that wasn't necessarily true."
"...How many people know this?"
"The two department heads. And you, Lieutenant Park Jin-seok. Around me, that's all."
"So Lieutenant Lee Yura doesn't know."
"No. If you refuse the company commander position, then Lieutenant Lee Yura will find out too."
"..."
For a short while, only deepening breaths could be heard inside the room. In the silence, Jin-seok stared at the set of rank insignia with burning thirst. Almost a full minute passed before he broke the silence.
"What did Department Head Min Wan-ki say?"
"Department Head Min pointed out that, judging from history so far, the number of troops that actually move in any rebellion is surprisingly small. At most, a few brigades, or if things go well, one reinforced division. Department Head Min also said it wouldn't be any different even in a country as large as America. That's true. Troops deployed in safe zones have much lower density. And as I said earlier, the authorities aren't blind."
Troops drawn in while avoiding surveillance could not grow large in scale.
'And in the first place, they only need to seize the capital first.'
Yet one reason rebellions succeeded even with only that level of force was that organizing a suppression force took time. From the government's perspective, identifying friend and foe among each unit was difficult. Which unit could be trusted? Where did the loyalists end, and where did the rebels begin? Were there any Trojan horse traps...?
On this point, there was also an opinion offered, unexpectedly, not by Min Wan-ki but by Jang Yeon-cheol.
"Um, that number you received from General Schroeder. Couldn't it also be seen this way?"
He had explained uncertainly.
"If, by any chance, General Schroeder has some other plan, and that number is a line being monitored by an intelligence agency... Then the moment you call that number, the suppression force might decide that Little Captain has joined the rebellion too... If that happens, they'll waste their strength checking or restraining your unit, and the real rebels will have an easier time achieving their objective... I thought that sort of situation might be possible too..."
When Min Wan-ki heard that, Department Head Min had looked extremely pleased. It was the gaze of someone looking at a student who had grown well.
"That makes sense. Separate from General Schroeder's character, it is clear that his position leaves him with wants of his own. The higher one's rank, the harder it becomes to conspire in a rebellion, but on the other hand, he did possess abnormally strengthened authority as Blockade Commander. There is no harm in being careful."
Then Department Head Min had said this as well.
"America is a country with all kinds of conditions that make rebellion difficult to pull off. The territory is vast, and even if D.C. is seized, the individual state governments will not sit still. Unless the rebel forces can bring that enormous military organization under their influence in a short period of time, they are certain to become isolated like an island inland. It is practically impossible. But human madness sometimes makes people sprint at full speed toward an obvious catastrophe. Sensible people's responses are often late because they are bound by common sense. 'Come on, who would do something that stupid?' Like that."
In truth, that was exactly the sort of foolishness General Terrence Schroeder had warned him about. The personnel deployed in the rear were so far below standard that he could not help worrying.
After hearing the above in concise form, Jin-seok hesitated, then opened his mouth.
"I'll answer your first question. My answer is yes. If we have to fight, then we have no choice but to fight."
Footnotes:
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