Hansen was packing his personal belongings in the barracks when he received a comms message from Jamde.
"Commander Jamde."
The moment he accepted the call, Hansen snapped to attention and saluted.
"Mm. It's been a while, Colonel Hansen."
Jamde gave a calm nod.
"I have a very important mission for you."
Hansen's expression immediately hardened.
"We're ready to deploy at any time."
"Good. In the coming days, we'll be launching an operation codenamed 'Midnight Storm.' You'll be one of the primary commanders. The target is Night City. I need you and your men to reach Night City within the next two days."
Jamde nodded in satisfaction as he issued the order.
"Yes, sir!"
Hansen saluted again to acknowledge the command.
Jamde ended the call without another word. He walked slowly to the window, gazing down at the scene below as his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Do you think… after the war ends, Myers will use this opportunity to purge Militech from the inside?"
"I don't know, sir."
"Is that so… I think it's very possible. It just depends on whether she has the nerve to do it."
Jamde nodded faintly, rubbing the web between his thumb and forefinger.
"Either way, President Myers' decisions won't affect us, will they?"
His aide spoke up after hearing that.
"That's hard to say. It's better to stay as far away from that whirlpool as possible. Only distance can ensure we won't be dragged in. As for PROJECT Corporation…"
A flicker of irritation flashed through Jamde's eyes before he quickly suppressed it.
"Let the next guy deal with it. I'm about ready to retire. People who reach my position rarely get the chance to walk away cleanly."
After hearing this, Jamde's aide chose to remain silent.
"So… that's how Jamde really sees it…"
After listening to the report from the person in front of her, Myers nodded lightly. When the figure's face came fully into view, it was none other than Jamde's aide.
"Do you need me to do anything?"
"No. This opportunity works perfectly to remove you from your current position. Koson, from now on you'll take on this face and identity and enter the upper levels of the military."
"I understand."
Koson nodded, raising no objections to Myers' arrangement.
After giving Koson several additional instructions, Myers ended the call.
That left a new problem. Since Jamde intended to retire, there was no reason to provoke him. That meant this 'Operation Midnight' would be short one scapegoat.
After all, Myers had already obtained intelligence from Arasaka and had a rough grasp of what they were preparing. With gains this substantial already in hand, continuing to clash head-on with Arasaka would be extremely unwise.
In the end, it was only Night City. And there was still PROJECT Corporation sitting inside it—let Arasaka deal with that headache themselves.
"Hm… this person might actually be a surprisingly good fit…"
Myers flipped through the files on the officers involved in the operation, her gaze settling on one individual.
...
"Our next stop is Night City."
Hansen looked at the group of people in front of him as he spoke.
"Night City? What for? Are they planning to make a move there?"
Yuri asked, curiosity written on his face.
"Yeah. They say there's an operation coming up and everyone's being transferred over. But the exact time and location haven't been finalized yet. Probably to avoid any trouble."
Hansen nodded as he explained.
"When the time comes, I'll probably need your help again, Farida."
He turned toward the only woman in the group.
"Yes. It's my duty."
Farida nodded, her expression unchanged. To her, as long as it was an order from the state, she would follow it.
"Farida, I'll be counting on you for my cyberware maintenance then."
Lindell grinned as he spoke to her.
"Instead of having me maintain it, you should pay more attention to how much cyberware you're packing. You're already close to the threshold. Adding more after this could be dangerous."
A flicker passed through Farida's eyes as she replied.
"That's true. You probably weigh more than I do now, don't you?"
Bennett chimed in as he glanced over at Lindell.
"Hey, it's nothing. I know my limits. I'm not adding any more. What I've got is already plenty—no need to push it further."
Lindell waved it off as if it were trivial.
Nearby, Murphy had been watching Lindell closely. He knew Lindell would never actually stop. Young and hot-blooded, he would always chase after that so-called power. Until he paid the price, he'd never truly learn.
"These are your inhibitors for the coming period. Take them on schedule."
Farida said nothing more. She pulled a box of inhibitors from her medical kit and handed it to Lindell. He'd installed a new piece of cyberware not long ago.
Lindell took the inhibitors and nodded to show he understood.
After giving a few more instructions, Hansen left. He still needed to mobilize the rest of his people, and calling Yuri and the others over had only been because they were his longtime core group.
Once Hansen was gone, Bennett showed no interest in lingering. He left without saying another word.
Not long after, Farida and Lindell also departed, leaving only Yuri and Murphy behind.
"What do you think about this operation?"
Murphy spoke first.
"What do I think? I'll just stand there and watch. I don't understand this stuff."
Yuri shook his head, bit down on a cigar, lit it slowly, and spoke at an unhurried pace.
"Is that so? I think the people up top are planning something bad."
Murphy continued, half to himself.
"Making a move on Night City right now just isn't worth it. Even if they want to expand their gains, Night City shouldn't be the target. If I can see that, there's no way the higher-ups can't."
Yuri's hand finally paused.
"So what if we know? We're just soldiers."
"Yeah. In the end, we're nothing more than soldiers of the BARGHEST."
Murphy sighed, stood up, and walked toward the exit.
"I don't know what you're thinking, but I'll stick with Hansen."
"That's obvious. If not him, then who? Bennett?"
Yuri laughed and shot back.
"Fair enough. Hmph."