A crisp, even voice called for them to enter. Eric opened the door. Miher was standing up near the edge of Milano's desk, his graying hair looked disheveled as if he had been running his hands through it.

Milano took off his glasses, a grim expression on his face as he took a sip from his coffee mug.

"What do you have for me?" Milano asked, setting his coffee mug to the side.

Eric slid the reports he had gathered over to the general. "Sir, we were successfully able to gain an understanding of what the Veil operators were wishing to achieve. They wished to test our response time and gauge our capabilities. They appeared to underestimate our ability to detect mana because they were not expecting us to catch them."

Milano didn't respond immediately. With a weary sigh, he put his glasses on and sifted through the document. He stopped on one line and looked up. "There were more?"

"Yes. We have successfully captured at least four confirmed Veil operatives. They were attempting to pose as refugees in both Dresken and Freedom Town."

Milano's wrinkles seemed to multiply as he finished reading the report. He set the document aside and rubbed his face, the circles under his eyes seeming to grow darker. "Alright. Good job. We have successfully set up the new mana barriers at all 6-8 critical infrastructure nodes. Each node has a restricted access list, so they will not be able to scope things out easily. I heard reports that you had someone from the town taken into custody. Were they Veil?"

Eric shook his head. "No, sir. We suspected the two women to be Veil at first, but Erica knew them. As it turns out, they were former heroes the Empire summoned before Justin. Around the time Mickey began operating in Austin, they defected. They did not engage in combat operations with 6–8 forces. And sir? They wish to join my team."

Milano and Miher both paused. Miher looked up from his phone, his eyes narrowing.

"Master Sergeant Dryer, do you intend to have them join your team? I understand that heroes can be a valuable asset in terms of raw mana capabilities, but given the way we currently undergo our operations, we do not need a band of heroes acting like they are superheroes in a movie."

Eric sat down, looking up at both Generals. "Sir, if we change nothing about how we operate, we will lose against Cartharic. I propose a specialized strike team. My wife informed me a few days ago, after a discussion about the Ark, that each country has a group of combat specialists who go where their armies can't. Yes, we have Ricky and the team, but that is simply one special forces team. We can't mobilize the units at Fort Hood as they stand right now, and there is an urgent matter at hand. The first Ark is near completion."

The room went silent. Both Miher and Milano narrowed their eyes and took out their notebooks. Milano's leg began tapping gently under the desk, and his jaw clenched before unclenching. "Ricky was able to reach back out to you?"

Eric sighed and slid the last report over to Milano.

"Sir, we compiled all the reports Ricky sent over text. Something was unusual about the reports. As you can see at the bottom of the first page, the report included a message. Ricky successfully obtained the plans to transport the Ark Cores."

Miher dropped his phone.

Both Generals sat in silence, staring at their laptop screens with blank expressions.

Milano finally sighed and leaned back in his chair. He took his glasses off and looked directly at Eric.

"You will organize the strike team as you see fit. You move out tomorrow at 0500 regardless of what Ricky and the team report. If there is a window of opportunity to strike either the Ark transport team or the Ark itself, you are authorized to do so. You will have full operational authority in this matter."

"Yes, sir."

Eric got up to leave, but before he could do so, Milano stopped him. "And Eric?"

Eric turned back around. "Sir?"

Milano sighed, folding his hands in front of him and not looking Eric in the eye. "We have done too many twenty-one gun salutes during this deployment. Don't needlessly add to that total. If it looks like the mission can't be completed, get out of there. The first priority will be to retrieve Ricky and the rest of their team. From the reports you gave me, it looks like we have approximately seven to ten days to figure out how to take care of the Ark. You don't need to solve that issue if you deem it likely to put your life or the others' lives in danger."

Eric turned his back to Milano so that the General didn't see the somber expression on Eric's face.

"Yes, sir."

Mia and Eric left the office.

After walking back to their office, Eric collapsed into his chair. He stared blankly at the computer screen, and Mia walked over, placing her hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong, Babe?" She asked gently, her face scrunched with worry.

Eric couldn't meet her eyes. "I thought we were done with the hero shit." He murmured, looking down at the ground. "After Dresken, I know how close I was to dying. I could damn near see the light and hear my grandmother's voice. At that moment, I thought of what would be left behind if I did go, and I pulled myself back. Mia…"

She wrapped her arms around his back, kissing his head.

"This is not 'Hero shit', my Love. Hero shit would be charging the Ark alone, or hell, if all of us tried to join forces and take it down. That would be a death sentence in its own right. This is more of a recon or exfil mission. We are not going there to fight, but if the opportunity presents itself, we will take it."