Chapter Five: Black Zone Simulation

Rafe looked at Leon for a long moment. "That spear. You knew I would throw it?" "No," Leon said. "But you wanted to win." Rafe fell silent. Mira stepped between them. "From now on, Third Squad trains as a battlefield unit. You two can argue, but not over my commands." Rafe snorted. Leon nodded. After the simulation, Admiral Ardent called Leon alone to the observation gallery. "You noticed?" she asked. "Someone modified the simulation data." "The Armaments Bureau denies it." "Varro?" Ardent did not answer, which was answer enough. She projected an encrypted battle report in front of him. In the image, the orbital ring of Nereid-4 burned while dozens of Federation escorts were torn apart by black phase fire.