Sticking Point [Cadet Morning Meeting]

The Classroom was empty in Class Zero, but a lone Prince sat inside mulling over his thoughts to himself. He didn't expect anyone to come in so early in the morning. After all, it was a sudden summons for a discussion he knew he was loathe to have. Thinking about it, the last meeting wasn't a smooth discussion either, which made him loathe the morning even more. So much happened during the last few days since T's capture. There were victories and for some there were hollow ones...

Despite it all, Julius kept an even smile to the people coming. A couple of Cadets arrived first. Some including the rehabilitated ones led by Alex who gave a lazy wave and took his seat before wearing his thumbs away on the latest gacha game. However, there was one specific Cadet in a religious habit who was missing. It would be a surprise if it weren't for the fact what happened in a Church the nights prior. The Prince also noticed Lisa was absent, but he knew she was busy in her "recent project". So naturally she was excused for this moment. And perhaps, it was for the best for what will be coming up in the agenda.

He watched the door as the rest of the Cadets arrived. When it was finally clear that no one else was coming inside, his Highness cleared his throat to get everyone's attention before addressing them. "Good morning. Thank you for coming on short notice, everyone."

The meeting wasn't mandatory for 3rd class Cadets, but as someone who someday wanted to be a bit higher than that, Isaac thought it best that he attend. So much had happened in a short time, and despite his research, his interrogation of Gabe Gatsby showed just how inept he really was. He was a fool think his can-do attitude was enough to surmount any challenge. Some failures had consequences. The only way he could atone for his inequity was to watch, wait, and pay attention. He had to see everything that was going on, and come to an understanding.

So he came to attend the meeting. Though he didn't raise his voice to say anything. He'd been in three major events lately, but he'd been a sideshow at best in all of them, and he felt it best to leave explanations of those events to Albrecht or Susan. He waited silently in his seat, watching and listening, waiting to hear from the ones that mattered.

Early mornings were no issue for Eryka. She often woke up early for a morning jog, and to prepare meals for the rest of the day, so getting here simply meant abandoning her morning jog. One day off her obsessive and borderline self-destructive fitness regime would not be the end of the world for her. She sat silently in the, roughly, centre rows of room her eyes locked upon Julius. Whatever business the Prince has to discuss must have been important given how early it was.

Eryka remained silent as the Prince address the gathered Cadets, her eyes taking a quick glance across the faces gathered. In her quick glance she only noticed Isaac who, unlike the last time they met, seemed less energetic than the last time they encountered one another. It was curious but Eryka genuinely was not concerned with such a thing. What she was concerned with the matter of this meeting. New Cadets? Julius had never arranged meetings to introduce new Cadets before as far as Eryka knew anyway. The matter of reporting on the past few days events was definitely something the German was interested in though.

Mornings, what a dreadful time. Hono had received news of a cadet meeting. While it was optional she didn't wanna miss it. Hono arrived at school dressed, though her hair could be better. It was a bit messy. Hono wondered what this meeting would be about. It would be hard to say, she just hoped it wouldn't be a waste of time.

Hono entered the classroom. She noticed a familiar face, as well as a new one. Hono might have seen Eryka a few times around school but she couldn't remember. Hono looked at Isaac as she entered the class. As she walked past him she spoke. "Told ya I'd become a cadet~," She said confidently. Hono took an empty seat and went quite awaiting the meetings to continue.

This morning was already shaping up to look like what she should expect. Nothing could ever be easy, could it? Susan had actually (against all sense of good reason) been at Seven Stars since daybreak, but busy with her club. Where she ran into him. Yes. Yes that would set the tone of the day just nicely. Despite her talk with Prince Julius the night before he was right. It was going to be difficult. And the most difficult part of that would be to maintain a positive attitude when there was nothing really at all to be positive about. But... she had her reason and that would have to be enough. The businesswoman could not afford to give up when it became apparent that she was relied upon. That would be an insult to those people and worse: a failure.

Susan entered the classroom looking haggard as everyone had probably accustomed her to appearing, but in full Cadet dress for a change of pace. To make a long story short she hated it but the Squire Program necessitated it.
"Good morning, everyone..." she breathed, trying to post-process her most recent encounter while preparing for this new one. The fun never stops does it? Susan offered a quick glance toward His Highness before quickly averting her gaze. Oh yes, that was right too. She hadn't considered that last night's encounter would have consequences as she'd basically sobbed on his shoulder like the wreck she was. The mousy woman really didn't think she had it in her to look him in the eye after that. She marched to take farthest from the door but still toward the front with her briefcase in tow, which shockingly enough was functioning as an actual briefcase today.

Susan took a moment to open her briefcase and shuffle through papers that she had had with her before the Prince's opening of the floor. She stood up immediately.
"If I may set up the talking points," she spoke, scooping loose papers which she likely didn't need into her arms as she began to walk toward the front of the meeting room. It was more of an announcement than a request. The short woman cleared her throat before she began. The odds were that she would be speaking for quite a while.



Her voice belied nothing of the event, though her eyes drifted above everyone else and her hands clenched on her papers as she spoke of it. Just another news article. That's how her life was ruined, it was just another news article now. It took immense effort to be so clinical about the entire thing and distance herself from the event but it helped. She could not afford to associate herself with that man anymore, even if it felt evil of her to be so impersonal.

"I don't have much information beyond that on the events, I wasn't directly involved that night. But I will exposit on what we have learned during the interrogation. From the suspect's records they are targeting District Leaders and we have reason to believe that they are targeting District Leaders exclusively. This was presented under the guise of vigilante justice with two on record: Invidia, who has been claimed to have been killed by a rival terrorist coalition and has been accused of brainwashing people and... eating... them and Superbia, who we all know about and has been accused of making people who confront the way she runs the news disappear. Under further scrutiny the suspect was demonizing Superbia for... literally being the news and could not produce any names or incidents of cannibalism from Invidia, leading me to believe that these are strawmen they use to sway the public to their favor, they are disillusioned fanatics, or they are being lied to and manipulated by a third party but that will need further consideration."

"Thus far their claimed methods of learning this information is first-hand accounts of people involved or tangentially involved. We have no leads with Invidia but from what I have gathered about Superbia and the suspect's claims of what was sensitive to her, who was a potential victim, and protecting 'journalistic integrity' we can posit that a reporter underneath Superbia's employ has in some way, shape, or form contacted the Platinum Playhouse and is our closest lead on them. That will need to be investigated."

"On to terrorist coalition groups the one that has supposedly killed Invidia is one called 'Skelker'. His group formed their own after splitting from the Platinum Playhouse after an unknown conflict but that's about all we know, is that they are distinct and unconnected from them. Speaking of the Platinum Playhouse we can assume they are somehow connected with Infinite Jest from what we have seen from Gambler Shotaro, possibly even a second name for the same group or a sub-group. Unfortunately, there is one more group to cover. Does anyone remember Marta Po?"

Susan paused for a moment to look for affirmations. Fairweather and Frost were involved in that event.
"...his convoy was attacked and his mind was wiped. I've been able to confirm that this came from an altogether separate group, one that does not get along with any other terrorist group and is actively hunting Cadets. Wiping his mind was a sending us a message. This group is organized and intelligent with at least a handful of members and they are incredibly dangerous. I advise we stay vigilant and respond swiftly to anything that looks well thought-out."

"Moving on, the day before yesterday at the same time that... Gambler Shotaro was arrested there were multiple attacks in Sunlake Palms, one at the Sunlake Palms Church which ended in over 50 casualties and a shoot out at a construction sight between two groups of unrelated parties. We have confirmed Psyche Terrorist involvement with the Sunlake Palms Church incident, we have not confirmed it in the shoot out. As far as I know neither have been investigated beyond that night. I was taking care of... personal... issues... at the time..." Susan sighed and shuffled her papers, it wasn't something she was going to elaborate on So many gaps and cracks to fill and such a tragic event at that. It was no wonder Maria was not here. She half-expected Frost not to be either.

"Lastly, a man was stabbed to death in Sunlake Palms's Vagabond Inn yesterday while another died from mysterious circumstances. Last night a video was released of those events taken from inside of the room, implicating both dead men as Infinite Jest members and the other party as unrelated Psyche Terrorists. One Yuri Ivanov was arrested and questioned by Jackie, the other is reportedly Nadia Marquee who is still at large but I will leave Jackie to speak to that if he is able."

Susan put her papers down and tugged at her collar as she put her back to the blackboard to take notes again.
"That is all that I am aware of and as succinctly as I can put it. I was not underestimating that we have much to go over. We need to be actively investigating these things if possible, too much time has passed by the Sunlake Palms Church incident with no follow on and it will be more difficult to gather evidence as time goes on." Susan paused for a moment. "Oh. Yes that reminds me, East Eden. There was an explosion out there last night, I was going to East Eden today. I'd nearly forgotten."

"Does anyone have any insight or additions? Am I missing anything at all?"

"Yes I have things to contribute and questions to ask." Eryka rose from her chair for, despite her ranking among Cadets being so low she didn't have one, she was still a Cadet, and she had thoughts of her own to add to the matter.

"However...before I do share my thoughts I wish to make a personal request. This matter of Nadia Marquee. I wish to be assigned to her case and assist in the questioning of this Yuri Ivankov." Eryka was...angered. Below the steely surface and persona she adopted she was incredibly angry. She had spent time with Nadia. Shared food with her and all this time she was a terrorist hiding right under her nose? Their relationship may not have been the deepest but it was still a failing Eryka was determined to erase by bringing her in. The betrayal of her trust was not something the amputee was going to let Nadia get away with.

"If these terrorists are aiming at the district leaders then would it not be practical to increase their security details? Or assign them one if they do not have one? Would it also not be prudent, for the sake of addressing any potential issues before they become damaging to the state as a whole, to investigate every district leader in light of these accusations and the member of Superia's staff contacting the Platinum Playhouse? It may be unlikely that they have committed any wrong doing but the way I see it? The more of these terrorist's justifications we dismantle the easier it will be to keep the people on our side for the purposes of reporting suspicious activity. To put it simply I feel we should at least seen be doing something to allay any potential fears the people have regarding the district leaders." The people could easily be leveraged as an information gathering tool to be used against these terrorists so Eryka's intention was to keep them on the side of the government forces.

"Regarding the other matters...if there is a group actively hunting Cadets can we not use that to our advantage? If we know their target we can manipulate their actions by forcing them to engage their plans on terrain favourable to us." The way Eryka saw it, the fact this group was hunting Cadets simply meant Cadets could be used to bait a trap. It would need to be done carefully and cautiously for too easy a mark would only give away it was a trap. Paranoia was often justifiable when it came to covert wars.

"That is all I have to add to the matter presently." Eryka sat down, bringing her prosthetic fist down harder on the desk than she had intended. The thump of metal on wood was audible around the entire room. There was good reason for the German Cadet to be so furious. Nadia had betrayed her trust and these disgusting Terrorists were going around, either directly or indirectly, causing the deaths of innocent people. Any group that felt it was justified to bring innocents, at the cost of their own lives, into this had already lost. If you wished to fight a war, even when you were on the wrong side, you should NOT have the sheer audacity to drag the innocent into it. That was a disgustingly inhuman act only carried out by pathetic cowards too weak to fight for their own cause.

Jackie had been having what a human might call.a 'rough morning'. He hadn't particularly liked what he had to do last night. Arresting a killer wasn't easy, especially with...certain other things still on his mind. After Ivanov had been loaded up in the Transport, he'd gone right home. Not that he'd managed to get much sleep, but he'd been at home, at least. He was quietly sitting at a desk near the back of the room, instead of standing like last time. Person or not, today he felt...drained. And strangely, it wasn't even his battery. Clearing his cache wouldn't do much either.

He remained quiet, until Susan mentioned Ivanov, at which point he stood. "Yuri Ivanov got in contact with someone yesterday morning, by the name of JOKER. He lured JOKER and at least two others to the Hotel, with the promise of some kind of gift. I can't say for sure what caused the fight between Mr. Ivanov and JOKER's group. Ivanov seemed to have an...odd recollection of events. From what I gathered, JOKER has a strong possibility of being affiliated with JEST. I'd suggest an investigation, but I have no clue where to start. As for Nadia Marquee, Mr. Ivanov didn't know anything about her. He mentioned another Psyche Terrorist named Revenant who he...also knew nothing about, apparently. The Interrogatiom of Mr. Ivanov has concluded, so your assistence won't be needed for that. Nadia Marquee is likely to expose herself, if she was careless enough to use her powers in the middle of the day, I suspect it's only a matter of time until she slips up again. Unfortunately, I'll have to advise against...her...being assigned to Nadia's case. JEST's potential involvement makes it too dangerous for any one Cadet to go looking."

Albrecht is there now, he enters the room.

Isaac's guts were coiled tight as a spring. It'd been a rough time for him, but all his wounds were superficial. There were others who had lost much more. Maria...Albrecht...That Shotaro guy was dead after someone had tried to help him escape? Marta, who Isaac had gone through so much to protect, had ended up a vegetable?

His head hit the cold desk and pinched his eyes shut, just processing. Just taking it all in. He wasn't the guy with the plan, he was a sword that was pointed and directed. But where was he supposed to go? He was still laughably inferior to many of the other cadets there assembled. Even if he wanted to help, he'd just be a tag-along.

No, he couldn't think like that. Every body had purpose. Any little thing could tip the scales. He thought that was something his mother might say about it. He rose his head up, looked to Albrecht, to the look on Eryka's face. Did she know this Nadia person? He had to do something. He wanted to volunteer himself to help do something.

He stood slowly, after Jackie had finished speaking. "If I may say so, a good place to investigate this Nadia Marquee would be known associates. If she was a student here, it wouldn't be too hard to glean her habits or friends from the student body..." He looked to Eryka as he'd said it. It may not be safe for her to go out on her own, but asking around school for leads would probably be a safer and more effective way to spend her time.

"I don't have much to add when it comes to Shotaro or Po. But I do agree with Jackie. Not just with the Marquee case, but in all of them. We can't afford to go about alone when there are all of these warring elements in the city. If you're not opposed to it, Officer Groves, Ma'am, I would like to accompany you to East Eden." He kept his tone level, serious. There was no hint of the casual grin he usual wore. He looked ever bit the dutiful soldier now, ego smothered, but determination still burning behind his eyes.

Luckily discussion was taking place, which was a nice change of pace to the moral back and forth she grew tired of. Thinking was occurring which was also good, though the disparity between her and everyone else became apparent. Everyone was eager to do and be useful and that was part of the problem. They were young and impatient and chomping at the bit.
"Mmmmm I agree with you Cadet Jackie and I don't," Susan debated from the front of the room, "I'm sorry Cadet Eckert but I don't believe you should be assigned to Marquee's case. Yet. To my knowledge the greater public is unaware that Marquee is a Psyche Terrorist and releasing that information will be counter-productive. It will cause a panic and she and her allies will bury themselves deeper and make this impossible. If we start a manhunt now they will quickly disappear and we will waste time and manpower searching for them. That goes the same for questioning people close to the suspect, Fairweather. Asking the wrong people the wrong questions and saying the wrong things will alert the Psyche Terrorists that we are after them, Marquee will go underground and worst case scenario her allies will also go underground and we find no one. I would advise that we give this a day and wait for a Missing Persons Report to investigate, if none come in we can generate one ourselves and we can investigate without impunity. Preferably with Cadets who are not familiar to most people yet to minimize risk."

Susan leaned back on the chalkboard.
"I don't believe she was careless in using her abilities when she did and won't readily expose herself in the future, from what we know of the crime scene she walked into a trap. Without that video footage we never would have known and neither would anyone else. We got lucky... this time. Though... Infinite Jest has targeted her and I have reason to believe they will do so again. They aren't quiet. If we are even luckier if Infinite Jest finds her before we do they will cause a scene and lead us to them, killing two birds with one stone but we can't expect to be this fortunate another time. If not we should see it as auspicious that someone else is keeping them occupied with another one of our enemies. Watch the fires burning across the river." The short woman blinked and pursed her lips. That came out... much stranger than she meant it to sound.
"S-Sun Tzu said that, it's one of the Thirty-Six Stratagems. It means to let them fight amongst themselves to make our fight easier. From what I have gathered Infinite Jest does not cooperate with the other terrorist groups either and we can use that to our advantage and yes, if we are making movements against Infinite Jest it should be a group effort of at least two aside from crime scene investigation or cross-examination of victims."

That was the hardest part. Staying one step ahead of Infinite Jest was difficult when they remained unpredictable. Moreover and what Susan did not state was what did they want with the other terrorists? This was a pre-ordained trap they set. Were they eliminating competition? Was it retaliation? She would need to wait for more evidence. But then came the more difficult part of the job. She had, regretfully, pledged to be more personable in the execution of her station so she would need to tip-toe around accidentally insulting a few ideas.
"That is one good suggestion, Cadet Eckert. Director Avaritia is in fact asking for assistance with personal security this afternoon if you would like to assist her. Buuuuuuuut no one will be investigating any District Leaders, I am absolutely forbidding it and I will tell you why." The tactician kept her tone even and casual as could be. This was the part where she could hurt people's feelings if she was not careful.
"As I've said, the Platinum Playhouse cannot produce any evidence that either Invidia nor Superbia had committed any crimes. Not even a name of one of the murdered persons in Invidia's case, or a location or time that it happened. There is no evidence that the District Leaders are committing crimes other than he said she said and a friend of a friend of mine told me maybe. It is a witch hunt. They don't need evidence of crimes to assault government officials and lie that it was for justice, they will invent a reason. Case in point: they have implicated the other District Leaders without any other proof of guilt as of yet, no accusations have been brought forward but the blame is still there. They have already decided that they are guilty. We cannot investigate and prosecute someone on hearsay because literally anyone made a baseless accusation they can't elaborate on. Otherwise the entirety of the Cadet force would be in the woods looking for Bigfoot."
Susan crossed her arms with a sigh that she had to actually explain this out. Why was it that people were so convinced to take a group of established liars and criminals at their word? AFTER she had pointed out they were lying? It was stupid, and she didn't like to use that word.
"Furthermore it is actively harmful to us. If you investigate you are eroding trust in our organization, which is what we hypothosize was the goal of the attack on the acting studio months ago. In addition any terrorist could point to your investigation and say look, they are investigating! The District Leaders must be doing something wrong! and lose public trust. As well as waste manpower and time pursuing false leads. In short by starting internal investigations with no grounds to do so you are playing straight into their hands and harming the government. By all means if you see something, say something but it should be a decision made by our Captain on how to handle that and NOT from the mouths of crooks and liars that want to destroy our organization."

The businesswoman grew more cross towards the end of her explanation as the frustration weighed on her. It was aggravating how this group of thugs managed to sow so much doubt within the Cadets with zero evidence. It was all rumors and gossip! How could people buy into this nonsense? Sometime soon Susan anticipated the need to hammer in their message that these people literally wanted to destroy humanity as they knew it and had the means to carry that out. Certain chances should not be taken. But odds were only she was looking at that big a picture. Susan stroked her temple. It was starting to throb.
"As optimistic as that is unfortunately we cannot, Cadet Eckert. We are a reactive force and they are smart enough to know that, we do not get to pick our battlefield and we do not know their goals and methods enough to know how to counteract them. Fortunately we do have a means of doing that and that is through analysis and learning. We can engage them when it is convenient for us if we can strike them when they aren't expecting it, but we need to learn about them first and that takes investigation."

Unfortunately for Isaac he had picked a bad time to ask Susan, that being a day that ends in "Y" but more specifically after the need to point out all these things. So much talking without any learning or getting anywhere, just spelling out common sense. At least to her it was even if that wasn't precisely true, but she felt as if she were giving breathing instructions.
"Denied," she dismissed immediately. It was tempting to not explain anything beyond that but she did so. For the sake of politeness. "This is a sensitive matter that requires my specific skills, I cannot afford to add complexity and I can take care of myself and I say that as someone who has considered and appreciates the full scope of the risk. There is a lot to do and few of us to do it. Your presence is more valuable elsewhere." There. That was much better than I do not want to spend time with anyone and you are at the bottom of my list.

Idly toying with a candy cane clutched between her middle and index fingers, Cecilia would remain silent for a sizeable duration of the discussion, mulling over matters privately and listening to the explanation provided by Susan. Were Jackie to look her way he'd notice she appeared to be in much better condition than last night: a bit jittery but it would prove difficult to pinpoint whether that was the product of anxiety or the sugar coursing through her veins. Though that being said, it would noticeably die down once she noticed Shiina enter the room and a careful eye might spot her scooting over a few seats during the bulk of the businesswoman's breakdown.

"I don't have much to add, but I would like to stress we shouldn't necessarily consider Nadia an enemy. We should always remain wary of Psyche Terrorists of course and it's our duty to bring them in and to their senses, however, I feel like approaching this with the mindset that she's the problem would be counterproductive. The threat here is Infinite Jest - not Marquee - and the powers she and Ivanov exhibited were used solely in self-defense. If she resists arrest then sure, we can treat her like the rest of those rabid dogs and do whatever's necessary to capture her, but if we get a chance to play 'good cop' then we should take it and stress that her detainment is just as much for her safety as the city's. It's the best way to get her to cooperate and offer all the information she can... Heck, after the interrogation Yuri asked if he could join our ranks. It wouldn't surprise me if the clowns put things in perspective for her too."


"All that aside, I don't think we should count on her being affiliated with the Playhouse or any other kind of group. Yuri mentioned he'd been drawn in by their propaganda broadcast and briefly worked with supposed members on 'demon hunts' but it seems like a leap of logic to assume she helped him out because of that. And truth be told, even if it was the legit organization and she was a member, I doubt she'll be welcome among their ranks for long. If anything's been confirmed these past few days it's that I was right: the Playhouse is just a front for Infinite Jest. Shotaro drove that point home when he busted out clown shit in the sewers and started drooling at the mouth when asked for any evidence. All that prattle about the District Leaders is a thinly veiled excuse for disrupting our city's order and any nonsense they spew should be disregarded immediately. They're sick in the head and need to be cured like all the rest, it's as simple as that."

When Susan entered, Julius gave a smile in her direction. He was glad she was up and awake, but still wanted her to take the day off. Yet, it seemed everyone within the corps was allergic to the sheer concept of rest for better or for worse. Especially, Shiina who seemed to have just flown back into the country and by extension arrived back in the city. The morning was undoubtedly going to be started off with a long introduction from the corporate office woman, which would seem to be the usual tradition within the Cadets nowadays. But ultimately, it was necessary as it was evident there were newcomers within their ranks. It wasn't quite as ideal as he wanted, but for what was coming up they needed to be brought up to speed. He quietly watched to gauge the reactions of his Cadets as he stepped back to allow Susan to begin. As to be expected, she kept the briefing as concise as possible given the material that had to be covered. Julius allowed the conversation to continue as he put every argument into consideration as they debated.

SQ Gained:

"It is our job to ensure that the City remains peaceful and orderly. Uncontrolled chaos is our enemy and ally to the Psyche-Terrorists at large. It is best to minimize our apparent movements to our enemies as much as possible to ensure greater availability of options for us and higher chances of successes as a result of these options. This means we will be taking what Cadet Groves suggests. Let a Missing Persons Report come first for Marquee, there is no need to put significant resources onto one person from the get-go. Our presence is enough to justify eyes drawn to us and may complicate matters. This goes the same with investigating District Heads. They're each an important part to the functioning of our society and it is vital we remain in working relationship with them. We may hold a special authority in the name of our Queen and this city's defense, but we hold a double-edged sword requiring much responsibility in using it appropriately. For now, I will second holding off on any dedicated searches on the District Heads until further notice. They are quite leery as is, having to work with us in the first place... If any of you wish to assist Avaritia, you have my permission. But I don't recommend making an effort in encouraging the rest to do the same as they aren't as open... I will handle that myself, in that capacity." Julius said as he made a wide glance to the entire class after giving an approving nod towards Susan. He stepped closer to the side of the blackboard before taking a piece of loose chalk to start writing notes on the dark surface. He continued while writing down the name of Nadia Marquee on the board and other topics that have been brought up as of recently. His brows scowled together towards the end. Whether it was dread or annoyance, that was up for anyone to guess. However, the Prince took a more serious expression when finally underlining the next point, the Infinite Jest and right below it, the Sunlake Palms Church and East Eden. Julius turned towards the reclusive Knight who was simply sitting there to ask him a question.

Eryka remained silent for the time being, absorbing the feedback to her suggestions. To start with there was Susan recommendation, or order depending on how you wanted to look at it, that Eryka should not be assigned to the investigation. In her younger more...angry years the amputee would have immediately barked her disagreement but age had tempered her. Yes it did make sense, a lot of sense, for the investigation to be held off. Eryka pondered this and rubbed her chin, mental gears turning as she realised the sense of it.

"...Request withdrawn. Are you suggesting we let them grow complacent while preparing ourselves to strike when they expose themselves?" That was the path of logic Eryka assumed, even if odds are she was most likely incorrect, Susan was following. Too heavy a hand may simply agitate, pushing these subversive elements into hiding or worse? Aggressive actions that may result in further damage and panic. Still, despite her agreement some part of Eryka felt that they needed to be doing something. Perhaps Eryka would take up the offer of assisting Avarita with security.

"....I see.....Hmm... admittedly I have not considered how any of my suggestions present us to external parties. I simply do not see the sense in us doing nothing but...hmmm. As before I withdraw my suggestion. If my superiors have determined that investigation is a better expenditure of resources then I shall comply." Eryka returned to her seat, folding her arms in front of her and pondering what she had been told. The feedback and alternative perspectives she had heard revealed that, perhaps, her dislike of inaction had clouded her judgement. Perhaps she did not have as good a control over her temper as she thought.

For the time being Eryka stayed silent. She listened to Cecila's suggestion that a more tempered response, with regard to Nadia and not immediately branding her an enemy, may be more effective. Even if Eryka did not fully agree with whether these terrorists really were "sick in the head" what she agreed with was that they were a threat. The idea of a more tempered response was something Julius agreed with but that was not something Eryka really cared about. In reality? The amputee was far more interested in the realisation that being a Cadet was simply a lot more than just "capturing terrorists." Perhaps it would be wise to inquire with Susan about this later...although the business woman did seem rather on edge.

Albrecht was quiet throughout the meeting, mostly taking in the new information as it was revealed. Nadia turned out to be a terrorist. Surprising but he barely knew her, she was surprisingly fine with befriending Cadets but perhaps second intentions were at play there. Either way he felt nothing at that.

"If i may interrupt. I have met this Nadia, she has friends at school. A boyfriend even, maybe whoever takes upon investigation should start there." And then he fell silent again, no stakes is this issue. He also had bigger worries in his mind rather than some petty terrorist.

Shotaro was dead and Albrecht's only regret was that he didn't get to do it himself. That cursed hedonistic clown sucker punched the knight back in the sewers. His mercy was costly. Not to mention, the slaughter at the church that happened. Even know his hatred and anger wouldn't go away, bash their skull and peel their pale skin away. Leave them to bleed, make them suffocate, snuff their maddened laughter away. It didn't take long for Julius to have his attention to the knight, inquiring just about that. He stood up slowly, instinctively growling. Thoughts of violence and aggression were currently flooding his mind. He needed a brief second to shake it off. Not an easy task, it was particularly easy to drift away in thought with how dull this whole meeting was.

"Dead. Everyone who was present at the church at the time perished. It was a a violent slaughter. The doing of a terrorist." Holy ground desecrated by the blood of the innocent and the presence of the murderer. "I was away at the time. Clashed with another terrorist group, couldn't catch them and neither could i get to the church in time." Albrecht stared at his own fist, clenching in intense anger before sitting back. Silent and retreating back into his own mind.