On the small ship parked on Kheris, at a safe distance, Lola was in complete panic mode. Her communication sensors were flashing frantically, and her voice, usually so cheerful, now carried a sharp tone of comical desperation. Ling had asked her to contact Instructor Kira before they entered the bar, but the situation had escalated far beyond what anyone expected.
"Calling Instructor Kira! Calling Instructor Kira! Priority Alpha-Omega-Seven! Or whatever priority this is, just get here already!" Lola repeated, her robotic arms waving through the air as if she could force the connection to happen.
"Attention! Your recruits are in trouble! They're going to fight against a faction! I don't know how dangerous they are, but this is already way beyond ordinary mercenaries! Please hurry, Instructor Kira!"
Far away from there, aboard the Helios Space Station, Instructor Kira was inside an austere conference room, the gray metal walls reflecting the cold light above. Sitting across from her, imposing and immovable like a mountain, was Grux. The atmosphere between them was as cold as the vacuum of space itself.
"You sent them on a rescue mission to a planet infested with criminals without proper training, without tactical support, and without even a decent contingency plan," Grux growled, his stone-like voice echoing through the room.
"That violates every security and training protocol of the Special Forces. They are not ready for this. You placed them in unnecessary danger."
Kira stared back at him, her expression unreadable.
"And if I hadn't done it, Grux? What would have happened?"
She gestured toward the screen displaying a brief report about Lyra's kidnapping.
"The Coalition would have ignored it. The planet Kheris is considered a low-interest zone. Bureaucracy would have dragged its feet for weeks, maybe months, until it was too late. The girl would have been lost. Those prisoners..."
She shook her head.
"Someone had to act."
"Act, yes. But not with inexperienced recruits on a high-risk mission!" Grux snapped, slamming his fist against the table with enough force to make the room tremble.
"Those are not the rules!"
Kira let out a tired sigh.
"Rules, Grux? You talk about rules? You should be happy. If they succeed, rescue the girl, and dismantle that gang, the Coalition gets free publicity. 'Special Forces save the day!' No one will question the methods if the outcome is positive. And you know it."
Grux narrowed his eyes, his voice lowering into a dangerous tone.
"And what about the report? The funding behind that organization? You know the criminal is Crismon, and he doesn't work alone. Someone inside the Coalition is..."
"So that's his name? Crismon? Then you already knew?" Kira interrupted, her voice now as cold as ice.
"I know. I'm not blind. I know this Crismon has a reputation, but he's just a pawn financed by greater interests. I know there are powerful people benefiting from the chaos on Kheris and from the exploitation of its minerals. And I also know that, because they are 'funded by the Coalition,' many people look the other way regarding their activities. That's politics, Grux. The dirty side of it."
Grux fell silent, his fury restrained. He knew Kira was right. He was a warrior, an instructor, but politics was a battlefield where he had neither the morality nor the proper weapons to fight. His brute strength was useless against systemic corruption.
At that moment, Kira's communicator began beeping incessantly, an irritating and persistent melody. It was Lola. The screen on her wrist displayed the AI's image, her sensors flashing red and blue with an expression that, if a robot could have one, would be pure panic.
Kira looked at the communicator, then back at Grux.
"It seems your 'insects' are more active than you expected. And apparently, they're having quite a lot of fun."
She stood up, her expression still serious, though there was now a faint glimmer in her eyes.
"I need to answer this. It seems the situation down there is... evolving."
She left the room, leaving Grux alone, the image of the stone giant deep in thought while the distant sound of Lola's alarms echoed through his mind. Kira's war, he knew, was far more complex than any battlefield he had ever stepped onto.