Chapter 4:
The assessment chamber at EVA Headquarters was known as 'the Crucible.' This was no ordinary training simulator. It was the arena for the annual performance evaluation of commanders and their teams, a place where the slightest mistake was unforgivable. Behind its glass walls, on the observation deck, sat General Tiberius Thorne himself—the head of EVA's Special Operations Division. His stone-like face and cold, analytical gaze were enough to crack the confidence of any young commander.
Today, it was the turn of Ryan and his team.
"Simulation commencing," a mechanical voice announced from the control room.
As Ryan and his team stood in the center of the chamber, the gray walls around them dissolved. In an instant, they found themselves in a densely populated, cramped market in Aetheria. Holographic people walked past them, the neon signs of shops flickered, and the air was filled with the smell of spices and the hubbub of many languages. The environment was perfectly real.
"Mission: Hostage Rescue," General Thorne's voice echoed in their comm-links, cold and sharp. "Target: Five SV members are holding four government scientists hostage in a third-floor apartment in the market. Your objective is to rescue the hostages unharmed. There will be no civilian casualties. Time limit: 10 minutes. Your performance is being evaluated, Commander. Do not disappoint me."
"We never do, General," Ryan muttered under his breath. He turned to his team. "Everyone, to formation. Juno, you and I are on point. Lily, take an overwatch position. Elan, hack the market's security grid. Silas, identify enemy positions inside."
They were like a well-oiled machine. Without a word, they began their tasks. Lily vanished onto the roof of a virtual building overlooking the market. Juno activated a heavy-duty shield in front of him. Elan's fingers flew across the data-pad on his wrist.
"Five hostiles inside," Silas's voice came through. "Four are in the room with the hostages, one is guarding the door outside. Their heartbeats are stable."
"Elan?" Ryan asked.
"The corridor cameras are ours," Elan replied. "I'm bypassing the electronic lock on the door... now!"
They advanced quickly and silently. Under Ryan's lead, they moved like shadows through the market's crowds and narrow alleys. Every step was measured and precise. From the observation deck, General Thorne made notes on his data-pad, his face betraying no emotion.
They reached the third-floor corridor. The virtual guard outside the door was neutralized by one of Juno's sonic pulses before he even knew they were there. They were now at the main door.
Ryan motioned for his team to take their positions. Juno on one side of the door, Ryan on the other. Through her scope, Lily could see the faint silhouette of one of the hostiles near a window. It was time for the final strike.
Ryan raised his right hand, signaling for the others to prepare. He controlled his breathing. His plan was simple—as the door breached, Lily would take out the enemy near the window, while he and Juno would handle the rest. Everything depended on perfect timing.
"On my command," he began to whisper.
At that exact moment, a terrible, sharp pain shot up from his neck down his spine. It felt as if someone had jammed an ice-cold knife between his vertebrae. His entire body went rigid for a moment. An unspeakable agony consumed his mind, paralyzing his ability to think.
His team was waiting for his command, their fingers on their triggers. But Ryan was frozen. One second... two seconds...
He fought the pain with all his mental strength. Gritting his teeth, he practically yelled the command, "Breach!"
But it was too late. His two-second delay was enough to alert the enemy. As Juno broke down the door, a hail of gunfire erupted from within. Although they managed to handle the situation, a red text flashed on the assessment screen: "OBJECTIVE FAILURE: HOSTAGE COMPROMISED." Their perfect score was tarnished for the first time.
Ryan, barely managing to compose himself, said into the comms, "Glitch in the haptic suit. My movement froze."
His team might have believed his words, but on the observation deck, General Thorne's eyes narrowed. He had noticed Ryan's two-second, unnatural silence and the slight tremor in his command.
The simulation ended. They managed to rescue the remaining hostages, but their score was far from 'Perfect'.
The chamber turned gray again. Ryan stood still, sweat dripping from his forehead.
"Commander Solas," General Thorne's cold voice echoed throughout the chamber. "My office. Immediately."
###
The corridor leading to General Thorne's office felt like the longest path Ryan had ever walked. This section of the EVA headquarters was off-limits to regular personnel—the walls were polished black marble, the lighting was dim, and the air was cold and still. The sound of his own footsteps echoed down the corridor, seeming to keep pace with his heart.
He was replaying the last few moments in his mind. His two-second delay. The red warning message on the screen. His flimsy excuse. General Thorne was a shrewd and experienced warrior. He would not accept a simple technical malfunction so easily. Ryan knew he was walking into an interrogation.
The massive door to the General's office slid open silently. The room inside was vast and surprisingly devoid of personal touch. The furniture consisted of a massive mahogany desk, a few chairs, and a stand holding the EVA flag in the corner. The glass wall behind the desk offered a panoramic view of Aetheria's horizon, as if the entire city was controlled from this very room.
General Thorne was in his chair, his back to Ryan. He was looking out the window.
"Commander Solas," he said, his deep voice rumbling through the room without him turning around. "Come in."
Ryan entered and stood at attention before the desk. "General."
General Thorne slowly swiveled around in his chair. He was in his sixties, his hair gray, but his gaze was as sharp as steel. He stared at Ryan in silence for a few moments, as if trying to read his very soul.
"Sit down, Commander," he said calmly, but there was no warmth in his voice.
Ryan did not sit. He remained standing. "I'm fine standing, sir."
General Thorne smiled faintly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "I've reviewed your team's record, Ryan. For the last three years, they've achieved the highest score in every single assessment. They're called the most reliable unit in the EVA. 'Perfect'—the word had become almost synonymous with your name."
He activated the holographic screen on his desk. The data from today's simulation floated in the air. A single red mark stood out amidst the green lines of success—that two-second delay.
"So explain to me," General Thorne continued, "how the most advanced haptic suit in the fleet, maintained by our best technicians, 'glitches' at the most critical second of an evaluation?"
"It was a momentary feedback loop, General," Ryan gave his pre-prepared answer. "The suit's movement motors locked up for a second. I've already notified the tech team." His voice was firm and confident, but a storm of panic was raging inside him.
"A feedback loop," General Thorne repeated the words as if tasting them. "Your father was one of the finest officers I ever knew, Ryan. I served under him. He never blamed his equipment."
At that, Ryan's heart skipped a beat. General Thorne was making this personal.
"I'm not making excuses, sir," Ryan said, his throat suddenly dry. "I am merely stating the facts of the incident."
General Thorne stood up from his chair and came around the desk to stand face-to-face with Ryan. He was slightly shorter than Ryan, but his presence was far more imposing.
"Are you telling me the truth, Ryan?" his voice was low and intense. "Your unit's performance is a symbol of honor not just for you, but for the entire EVA. I do not want to see any weakness in you. Is your health fine? Are you under some kind of mental stress?"
Every question was like an arrow. Ryan felt the wall of his lie tremble. The dull ache in his neck threatened to return.
"I am in perfect health and fit for duty, General," Ryan said, looking him straight in the eye. He hated himself for telling the lie.
General Thorne stared at him for a few more moments. He might not have believed Ryan, but he also knew he couldn't force the truth out of him. He returned to his desk.
"Very well," he said, his voice turning cold and formal again. "Submit the tech team's report to my desk. You are dismissed."
Ryan saluted and turned to leave. As he was walking towards the door, General Thorne called out to him one last time.
"Commander," he said. Ryan stopped. "I will be watching you. Very closely. The next time a piece of 'equipment' fails you in the field, I won't be looking at the machine. I'll be looking at the man operating it. Is that clear?"
"Crystal clear, General," Ryan replied without looking back.
Walking out of the office, Ryan felt as if he had narrowly escaped the gallows. But the General's last words echoed in his ears. The crack in his armor was no longer a secret known only to him. It was now under the observation of the highest level of the EVA.
###
Walking out of General Thorne's office, Ryan was met by his team. They were waiting for him in the corridor, a mixture of concern and questions on each of their faces.
"What did that old fox say?" Juno spoke first, clear annoyance in his voice. "Did he blame us? I'll go in there and tell him..."
"Calm down, Juno," Ryan cut him off. His voice was quiet, but it had a coldness that silenced even a man of Juno's size.
"Commander, did the suit's diagnostics find anything?" Elan asked, his eyes full of technical curiosity. "I was watching the real-time data, I didn't see any error logs."
Elan's question was the most dangerous. Ryan knew that his lie was almost impossible to prove technically. "Could be a micro-fracture in the central processor, something regular diagnostics wouldn't catch. The tech team will work on it," he replied, as if it were a matter of little importance.
He glanced at Lily. She said nothing, only observed him. Her silence was the most unsettling of all.
"Listen up, everyone," Ryan said in his commanding tone. "The assessment is over. Whatever the result, the responsibility is mine. It was a technical fault, and it has been reported. This discussion is over. Return to your quarters. We'll meet again tomorrow morning."
There was a finality in his words that stopped anyone from daring to ask another question. Juno started to say something but stopped himself. The team nodded silently and headed on their own ways. But Ryan could feel an unspoken hesitation in their departure. For the first time, an invisible wall had been erected within their perfect unit.
Once the team was gone, Ryan didn't stay. He quickly walked in the opposite direction, towards a deserted section of the EVA headquarters. He stopped at an unused observation deck. From here, one could see the lower levels of the city—dark, and shrouded in smog. A complete contrast to the glittering Aetheria of the upper floors.
As soon as he was alone, the dam of control he had been holding back finally broke. He leaned against the wall, his hands trembling. Every word from General Thorne, Elan's question, Lily's suspicious gaze—it all hammered in his head. The dull ache in his neck was starting to return.
He looked at his own reflection in the glass window. In the dim light of the room, he slightly pulled down the collar of his uniform and tried to see the side of his neck. What he saw made his blood run cold. On the right side of his neck, beneath the skin, was a faint but clear darkish patch. This was no ordinary bruise. It was the shadow of his disease, which had now established its claim on yet another part of his body.
Until now, the symptoms had been confined to his hand or his leg, which he could easily hide under his clothes. But his neck? This was much harder to conceal. What if the numbness and pain he felt during the simulation started to happen more frequently? What if it happened during a live mission? A single wrong decision from him could cost his entire team their lives.
General Thorne was watching him. Lily was beginning to suspect him. And his own body was betraying him.
Ryan pressed his forehead against the cold glass. Staring out at the dark city below, he felt utterly alone. He was one of Aetheria's finest commanders, the leader of hundreds of soldiers, but at this moment, he was a helpless man, fighting an enemy that couldn't be seen, that couldn't be defeated.
The first crack in his armor hadn't formed today; it had been there for a long time. Today was just the first time it had been exposed to the light of the outside world.
He closed his eyes. Only one thought circled in his mind—he had to fight this war alone. No one could know. To protect his team, to protect Nyra, he would have to become more perfect, more ruthless, and a much better actor.
Ryan stood up straight. The look in his eyes changed. The fear and panic were replaced by that same cold, hard determination that made him Commander Solas.
The game had just become far more dangerous. And he was not prepared to lose.
The chapter ended here, with the beginning of a new, more complex war.