Shi Lang waited for the old man to complete the funeral patiently. The rest of the team was also on guard, after all, this old man was an eight-star Terran. If he decided to kill them all, it might not even take a few seconds. After the old man finished saying his prayers, he said, “I have served the colors ever since I was a youth like you all. I have upheld the honor of the colors, so, if you do not mind, I would like to leave with the colors on me.”
He meant that he would like to die with honor as a soldier would, dressed in his uniform. Shi Lang thought for a bit and nodded to the old man. The latter thanked him and went inside the still-intact part of the manor. At this moment Carole, who was playing a sentry at the high watchtower said, “Captain, we have three choppers inbound. Presumably trying to investigate the big movement here.”
Shi Lang nodded and replied, “Do not worry.” he turned his gaze at Lullaby and said, “Hail them, tell them that the secret divisions are handling business here. If they wish to be held in contempt, feel free to pass by.”
Lullaby nodded and using her communicator, did the same. When they were captured, their communicators were not taken off, it was because the device of the secret divisions all had special passcodes on them, if you take the communicator without entering the passcode, it will explode. The intensity will be high enough to vaporize both the one who removed the communicator and the one who was wearing it.
Lullaby relayed the message from Shi Lang and Carole reported shortly after, “Clear.”
Shi Lang replied, “Copy that.”
As they cleared up the choppers, the old man returned wearing his black military uniform. He had cleaned up his beard and his hair was trimmed as well. The old man carried the uniform with all the etiquettes of the military. Shi Lang did not catch the name of the old man earlier but now, the uniform spoke of his name.
Shi Lang saluted the man as he stood in front of him, and after the initial surprise, the old man returned the salute. The old man said, “You may proceed now, Sir.”
Secret Division was to be respected despite the rank you hold. Shi Lang sighed and said, “You are a brave soldier, General Victor Duke. May you watch over us from the stars, and may you wear the colors again. Godspeed.”
Behind Shi Lang, the whole team said in unison, “Godspeed.”
This was how the medics would send off the soldiers who had no chance of recovery. The old man smiled and nodded, then he walked up to stand in front of the grave of his family and said, “Please bury me along with them.”
Shi Lang nodded, and said, “Carole, do it please.”
Carole was surprised but replied, “Roger that captain.” she aimed at the heart of the old man and took a shot. The phasor beam passed through the heart leaving a prick-like hole. The heart was punctured, gradually it will leak and the old man will lose consciousness until he falls into an everlasting slumber.
The phasor beams would carbonize the cells and stop them from regenerating, thus death was inevitable for the old man. After a few seconds, when the old man drowned in his blood, Tian said, “Captain, his life signs are null.”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “Put him to rest with his family. Then we leave.”
Hunk nodded and Sharpnel helped him bury the old man with his family. While Shi Lang used his communicator to submit a detailed report to the higher-ups. He reported the number of casualties on the other side and also stated in bold letters that General Victor Duke was the one, who took down his own son and the prime target, Alkaid Duke to help them and restore the honor of his family.
He was not someone who would swallow the credit of other people’s deeds. After ten minutes, Hunk and Sharpnel told him that they were done and Shi Lang ordered the team to move out. Their work here was done.
Carole, Hunk, and Sharpnel had come over in the guise of normal tourists, so they will be leaving like that only, while Lullaby and Tian had come in their own ships. Shi Lang was the only one who sneaked in without any procedure. So he used the same way to get back. He sneaked inside the tourist ship that Hunk and the other two used. The ships all had secret passages and Shi Lang used them to his advantage.
…
After two days, the whole team stood in front of Gamma and Commander Archie Arkham. The latter had furrowed brows as she gazed at the two people. She said, “Do you two understand what could have happened if any information from your mouth was to leak?”
Lullaby and Tian nodded and replied in a clear voice, “Yes, Sir.”
Archie Arkham asked again, “Do you know how the information of your arrival was leaked?”
Tian and Lullaby exchanged a glance but did not answer, Archie Arkham snapped, “I asked you a question.”
Both the ladies shivered and replied, “We do.”
“Tell me then, what was the reason for this situation?” asked Archie Arkham.
Lullaby said, “The place was in complete control of the Duke Family. We used our special ships to get in and rattled the snake.” she stated calmly.
Tian picked up where she left, “We did not take account of the Duke Family people inside the colonial command center. It was a mistake on our part.”
Archie Arkham nodded and said, “Glad that you understand, as a punishment, you two are grounded for any new missions with the team, for the next three months. Any objections?”
“No, Sir.” replied the two ladies. Objections you asked them? Why not directly court-martial them.
Archie Arkham nodded and said, “Agent Ace, you did well in this mission. Here is your reward.”
She picked up an envelope from the table and extended it towards Shi Lang. The boy was surprised because the reward was an envelope. These things were so rare that one could have raised their own platoon at the price to buy this.
Shi Lang took off his black gloves and held the paper envelope in his palms gently. He ran his fingers over the coarse paper to sense the texture, ignoring the envious gazes of his teammates. Archie Arkham said, “Do you not want to see what is inside?”
The youngster raised his head, to look at the lady from behind his mask. His eyes were brimming with surprise. He flipped over the envelope and another wave of shock hit him. His body trembled, on the seal, there was a red stamp mark, which said, ‘Top Secret’ in red color.
Shi Lang raised his head and asked, “Sir, may I have the permission to leave?” his voice was barely able to hide his excitement.
Archie Arkham nodded and Shi Lang dashed out without even saluting her. Gamma raised her eyebrow and was about to reprimand him for this insolent behavior when the lady in command said, “It is fine. He has been working himself to the ground ever since he got his deployment order and each task was finished without a hitch. He has earned that envelope and an exemption from saluting.”
Carole could not help but ask, “Commander, if I may ask you something.”
Archie nodded and said, “You all want to know what is inside that envelope?”
The team nodded like robots. Archie Arkham sighed and said, “This thing must not be mentioned again, not even to yourself, even in your dreams.”
She waited for the people to nod and said, “Ace got selected for a seat in the Card Class.”
The words shocked everyone. Tian mumbled, “Is that place not where those phenomenal geniuses go?”
Archie nodded, she said, “This kid was just a one-star Terran half a year ago, yet now he is at the peak of five-star level. Do you think he is anything less than phenomena as it is?”
Carole sighed and said, “I knew this kid would be standing out soon enough. However, is this not too early Commander? After all, he is only about to reach seventeen.”
Archie Arkham shook her head and said, “The commands are issued directly from the Fleet Generals. Whether it is too soon or not, we will find out during the test. Now, do not tell a second soul about this and leave. I have a lot of work to do. Lullaby, Tian, you two will be handling the clerical work in the town hall from now till your punishment is over.”
“Yes, Sir.” everyone replied and they moved out.
Gamma was the only one who stayed inside the cabin and asked, “Commander, is that letter really from the Card Class? Does that mean Shi lang consumed that special drug?”
Archie Arkham nodded and said, “He did, and this drug seemed o have worked on him better than the others. He is deliberately hiding his power in front of us. The reason is lax control. The envelope came at the right time, I was not expecting him to finish a triple SSS level task and rake up his merit. Somehow, the secret division is too shallow for his talents.”
With that said, Archie Arkham fell deep into thinking, while Shi Lang had already come to his room and was carefully removing the seal from the letter.