The Scrap Tamer - Chapter 122

Chapter 121: First Assignment 2
The silence in the briefing room stretched for a while as the colonel contemplated Reid’s words.

It was the only information they had gotten so far about those things but at the same time she was skeptical.

“Thank you for the information, officer Fletcher” she said “excuse me while I report this to the commander.”

Choosing wether to trust this information or not would depend on the commander’s decision therefore she didn’t just dismiss it as a mere speculation.

She proceeded to walk through a door that led to another room to report the new information to a higher up, leaving Owen, Reid and the others waiting in the briefing room.

As the door clicked shut behind her, the sleepy Owen turned to Reid, his sleepy eyes looking directly into Reid’s blue ones.

“You know a lot more about this than you let on, don’t you?” He said “it’d be really helpful for us to know as much as we can about what we’re about to face.”

Reid maintained eye contact as he replied “I already told the Colonel all I know.”

“I see,” Owen nodded “then let’s just wait for the Colonel’s decision.”

“What do you think will happen?” Clara asked “do you think they’ll believe you?’

“From the look of things,” Owen started “it’s the only information they have on those things, whatever they are, so they wouldn’t dismiss it easily.”

The room went quiet again as they waited for the Colonel and soon enough, she did.

The expression on her face was a lot worse than when Owen was late earlier, whatever the decision made by the higher ups was, she didn’t appreciate it.

She released a long, frustrated sigh as she tried to calm herself down. Her eyes to scanned team 7 before resting on their senior officer, Owen, causing her to release another sigh.

“The commander has reviewed the information” she started, even her voice was laced with frustration “and while we cannot verify your words, we have no choice but to believe it for now.”

“This means?” Owen asked, he already knew where this was going but he still had to ask.

“This means that your assignment will remain the same” she answered “you will still be deployed to the location and eliminate the threats.”

Her frustration and expression suddenly made sense, she was basically responsible for sending these kids to a mission that could very well be a death sentence and with no information at all.

“Will we be deployed with other officers or is it just us?” Marcus asked. The decision by the higher ups was an expected one so they were not surprised.

The Colonel pressed her lips into a thin line before responding. “You’ll be going in alone.”

“Figured as much,” Owen muttered.

“We’re expected to face the unknown with no backup whatsoever?” Lisa asked with crossed arms.

The Colonel’s exoerssion became a lot more sour. she excused the manner in which the officers spoke since she understood their situation after all, she would react a lot worse than they currently were.

“I argued for reinforcements, but the commander decided against it. We don’t have the manpower to spare, and without verifiable intel, they won’t risk sending more troops into an unknown situation” she said.

“They’re already risking us,” Clara pointed out, her usual lighthearted tone absent.

“They are,” the Colonel admitted, “but according to them, you’re the most likely to survive whatever we’re against.”

Even she knew that statement was utter bullsh*t, something definitely smells fishy about this while assignment.

Starting from the fact that a group of newly promoted officers were selected to investigate the increase in primal activity in an area where higher ranked ones had gone completely missing was suspicious, but she couldn’t say anything without proof.

“Is that so?” Owen let out a small chuckle before asking “then what do we have access to for this assignment?”

He changed the topic since there was no way they could refuse the assignment without being accused of insubordination. They might as well go with it.

The Colonel exhaled, rubbing her temple as if the conversation itself was exhausting her.

She then motioned toward a data pad on the table.

“You’ll be provided with the basic equipment for the mission—standard gear, survival kits, and emergency flares. But as far as heavy reinforcements go… there’s nothing else.”

“So we’re basically being thrown in blind with the equivalent of a first-aid kit and good luck wishes?” Clara stated out, she seemed the most pissed at their situation compared to the others who had mostly unreadable expressions.

The Colonel didn’t answer immediately, her silence telling enough.

She looked at each of them for a long moment before finally saying, “I don’t like this any more than you do, but orders are orders. If I had my way, none of you would be going.”

Reid’s expression remained unreadable, but his mind was already working through the situation.

It was clear enough from the creature he saw in the recording that the cult was responsible for whatever was happening.

But the higher-ups sending them on what seemed like a suicide mission all but confirmed that the cult had influence within the military as well.

This only reinforced Reid’s decision to keep his full strength hidden—at least for now. Until he had a clearer picture of what he was truly up against, revealing everything he had would be a reckless gamble.

Owen stretched his arms with a yawn, breaking the heavy silence.

“Well, guess we’re doing this, then.” His tone was casual, extremely so infact “When do we leave?”

“Due to the new Information officer Fletcher provided, the higher ups decided to move your deployment to tomorrow morning.” The Colonel’s voice hardened. “Use tonight to prepare yourselves. Get your supplies, run your checks, and get some rest. You’ll need it.”

“How kind of them” Owen sarcastically remarked.

Lisa exhaled through her nose, clearly irritated but resigned.

Clara just muttered something about terrible higher ups or something. Marcus and Ethan just chose to remain silent.

The Colonel either ignored Owen’s sarcasm or chose not to acknowledge it. Instead, she turned toward the door.

“That will be all. Dismissed.”

She didn’t wait for them to respond, stepping out of the room and leaving them alone in the tense silence.

For a few seconds, no one spoke. Then, Owen let out a loud yawn.

“Well, that was uplifting,” he said, stretching again. “I’ll head back to sleep now. Didn’t get enough this morning since I had to wake up early.”

Clara shot him a look before saying “You’re way too calm about this.”

“What do you want me to do? I’d much rather sleep than argue about something we can’t change” Owen said “besides, do you guys not have a single idea how strong your leader is?”

“A sloth and a narcissist at the same time—that’s a weird combination,” Clara said, her usual mood returning.

“It’s not narcissism if it’s true” Owen answered, before gesturing to Reid “but I was referring to him in this case.”

“You keep saying that but I don’t think you’ve ever seen him go all out” Clara pointed out.

“Exactly, but he still won when we fought” Owen said “that’s why I believe that’s he nothing short of a monster.”

Reid raised a brow at the praise but said nothing, Owen had made it clear that he thought high of him so it was not really a surprise hearing him say this.

“That’s why I believe you guys will be fine tomorrow” Owen finished.

“‘you guys’?” Ethan spoke up “what about you?”

“I’ll be taking a nap” Owen answered with a straight face.

“Sleep?” Clara asked “won’t you be fighting those things with us?”

“Nah, that would just be overkill” Owen said “besides, didn’t you hear what I just said? Reid alone will be enough for whatever you face tomorrow.”

Reid’s eye twitched as he realized why Owen was praising him this much. Their senior officer was finding a way to dump everything on him and escape to sleep somewhere.

Lisa massaged the bridge of her nose as she also realized what Owen was doing.

“So let me get this straight—you’re planning to sleep while we fight for our lives? That’s your grand strategy?” She said.

“Strategy?” Owen blinked innocently. “Oh, no, no. This is just delegation. As a good leader, I recognize my team’s strengths and assign tasks accordingly.”

“And since Reid is a—what did I call him? Ah, yes—’a walking catastrophe’—it’d be a waste of resources if I fought too” he finished.

“You are the worst senior officer ever” Clara groaned.

“Incorrect,” Owen said, wagging a lazy finger. “I am the smartest senior officer ever.”

Lisa sighed. “At this point, I can’t tell if you’re actually confident in Reid or if you just want an excuse to slack off.”

“Why not both?” Owen smirked. “Reid is ridiculously strong, and I do like my naps. Two truths existing in harmony.”

“You do realize that if those things somehow take control of Reid, we’re all screwed, right?” Lisa spoke up again.

Owen tilted his head as if considering it. “Hmm. Yes, that’s true.” He turned to Reid with an encouraging smile. “So don’t fail.”

“So your entire plan is just ‘Reid will handle it’?” Reid, who had been silently watching this ridiculous conversation, finally spoke, his voice flat.

Owen nodded. “See? He gets it.”

Reid closed his eyes for a moment, exhaling slowly, as if summoning patience from the depths of his soul.

“Okay,” Reid finally said, opening his eyes. “While were. What exactly will you be doing?”

Owen yawned. “Ah, excellent question. I will be taking a na—ahem—I mean, offering moral support—from a safe distance.”

“Maybe a rooftop. Or a cozy little cave. Or a nice, thick tree branch. You know, somewhere optimal.”

“Permission to shoot him?” Clara said, as she summoned her rifle from her inventory.

“No violence against superior officers,” Owen said quickly, stepping back. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to rest up for tomorrow’s moral support duties. It’s very exhausting work, you know.”

Lisa’s eye twitched. “This man outranks us.”

“I know,” Clara muttered. “And it physically pains me.”

“Alright,” Reid said “let’s go get our supplies and get some rest, I have a feeling tomorrow’s gonna be a long day.”