Chapter 404:Interview III

Chapter 404: 404:Interview III

The older officer studied him.

"So you would question an officer."

"I’d report information."

"Careful wording."

"It’s also different."

"How?"

Antony leaned forward slightly.

"If an officer orders us through a valley and I notice twenty beasts waiting inside, saying, ’Sir, there are twenty beasts in that valley,’ isn’t rebellion. Staying quiet because I’m afraid to question him would be stupid."

Nobody spoke but their interest was visible.

Antony continued.

"If he hears that and still orders us forward, then there might be a reason I don’t know. At that point, unless the order crosses a line I’m supposed to refuse, I follow it."

The older officer sat back.

"Acceptable."

Antony released a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

The man on the right finally spoke.

"Candidate Braille, do you consider yourself a leader?"

Antony blinked.

"No."

"Immediate answer again."

"I don’t think I’m terrible at it. I just don’t walk into groups of strangers assuming they should follow me."

"You challenged Holler repeatedly."

"Because he was wrong repeatedly."

The woman raised an eyebrow.

Antony quickly added, "He was also right repeatedly."

"Which is it?"

"Both."

That earned him a pause.

Antony continued.

"Gareth did well. He organized us. He gave the rifle to me because I had the highest shooting score instead of keeping it because he was leader. He listened to Mira even though she had the lowest Soul Capacity and rank. He made good decisions most of the day."

"And when he didn’t?"

"We told him."

"Did he listen?"

"Usually."

The older officer asked, "Would you work with him again?"

Antony smiled.

"Yes."

"Would you let him lead again?"

"Probably."

The woman frowned.

"After spending this interview explaining where he was wrong?"

Antony shrugged.

"Being wrong twice doesn’t erase everything else he did right."

The three officers exchanged brief looks.

The screen changed again to the injured candidates near the end of the mission. The boy refusing evacuation but the girl choosing it.

Antony’s expression became more serious.

The man on the right asked, "Was calling medical evacuation the correct decision?"

"For those two?"

"Yes."

"I think so."

"Think?"

Antony looked at him.

"It ended their examination. Maybe one of them could’ve made it. Maybe we could’ve carried them. Maybe there was another solution we didn’t see. I’m not going to pretend I know it was perfect."

"Then why support it?"

"Because carrying two seriously injured people would’ve put both squads at risk of missing extraction. One couldn’t walk and the other was already weakening from blood loss. We had two data units that needed to reach the academy."

The officer nodded.

"You prioritized the mission."

"Eventually."

"Would you make the same decision again?"

Antony thought.

"Yes."

The display went dark.

Antony waited for more questions wondering what they would shove onto him next.

The older officer looked at his tablet.

"Last question."

Antony straightened.

"Why Alpha Three Academy?"

That wasn’t what he’d expected.

He stared for a moment.

The woman asked, "You applied. You’ve spent two days attempting to enter. Why?"

Antony opened his mouth, then stopped. His usual jokes suddenly felt inappropriate.

He thought about it properly.

"I want to get stronger."

The older officer didn’t react.

"So does everyone."

"I know."

"Then give us a better answer."

Antony looked at the blank screen.

"I used to think being strong meant having a powerful ability and enough energy to use it." Nobody interrupted. "Yesterday I learned I waste power because I like having two forms and keep trying to use the perfect one for everything. Today I learned I can be completely right about one decision and still need four other people to actually make it work."

He smiled faintly.

"Also, apparently I don’t know nearly as much about field operations as I thought."

The woman asked, "And that makes you want to attend?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Antony looked at her.

"Because now I know what I don’t know."

Silence.

Then the older officer closed Antony’s file.

"Interview complete."

Antony waited for a confirmation or something but nothing came.

"That’s it?"

"That’s it."

"Did I pass?"

"You’ll receive results with the other candidates."

"When?"

"After all interviews conclude."

Antony stood.

"Can I shower now?"

The man on the right finally laughed.

"Yes, Candidate Braille. You may shower."

He smiled.

"This was worth it."

The woman pointed toward the door.

"Leave."

He immediately obeyed.

He stood in the corridor as the door closed behind him. Rebecca who sat against the opposite wall waiting for her turn looked up.

"How bad?" She asked.

Antony stared at her.

"They know everything."

"Obviously."

"No. I mean everything. They had footage of every stupid thing I did."

Rebecca smiled.

"Then you were probably in there for a while."

"You’re a terrible friend."

"We’ve known each other for two days, I don’t think we’re friends yet," she said but the small smile didn’t leave her lips.

"Still terrible."

An officer opened another door.

"Candidate Rebecca Vale."

She stood, before entering, she looked at Antony.

"Did they ask about Gareth?"

"Yes."

"What did you say?"

Antony smiled.

"The truth."

Rebecca’s expression became concerned.

"That’s not reassuring when you say it."

She entered.

Antony finally showered.

The academy gave the candidates clean temporary clothing while their examination equipment was collected and processed. Food followed, and Antony ate enough that the candidate sitting across from him eventually stopped pretending not to watch.

Then came waiting, which was worse than the examinations. At least beasts gave him something to do.

An hour, that felt like several, passed before the surviving candidates were summoned back to the main assembly hall.

Antony found Gareth first, then Leon, mira and Rebecca joined them last. For a moment Squad Seventeen stood together again.

Gareth looked around.

"How were the interviews?"

Mira groaned.

"They asked why I followed you."

Gareth frowned.

"What did you say?"

"Because you seemed competent at the time."

"At the time?"

She smiled.

Antony laughed.

Leon looked toward Antony.

"They asked about the ridge."

"Of course they did."

Rebecca folded her arms.

"They asked whether I thought Antony undermined squad cohesion."

His smile disappeared.

"What did you say?"

Rebecca looked directly at him.

"Yes," she calmly replied.

Antony stare turned into a full on playful glare.

Gareth laughed.

Rebecca finally smiled.

"I told them you argued too much, but you usually argued about the actual mission instead of arguing because you wanted control."

Antony placed a hand over his chest.

"That’s almost nice."

"Almost?" She asked.