Eliard’s speaking style was very articulated and he never seemed to get swept up in his emotions. The way he tells a story shows his intelligence. It is one of the conditions of being an excellent officer.

Conrad looked into Eliard’s background as much as he could beforehand, but it had more meaning hearing it from the person himself.

Eliard is a Spacenoid. He likely received visible and invisible discrimination while at the academy. Nonetheless, he endured this and became an officer of the Earth Federation Forces and what’s more was he was permitted to enlist in the Titans which was said to be an elite unit.

Although not said very openly, but there was an idea of being part of a chosen people in the Titans. Earthnoids and Caucasians received favorable treatment. It was extremely rare that a race other than white join ranks with the Titans, as was also the case with Spacenoids.

Exceptions to this were assembled in the team that Eliard was assigned to. Eliard was a Spacenoid and his colleague Carl Matsubara was a mixed-blood Japanese.

Lieutenant Wes Murphy, their commander, was someone with a few problems as well. Murphy, having been decorated in his first campaign in the Battle of Solomon, made a name for himself during the Delaz Fleet uprising. But, the Delaz Fleet uprising was a problem.

As part of the postwar process, Captain Eiphar Synapse who led the crew of the Albion, was court-martialed. Synapse was held responsible for the colony drop as well as the use of a new weapon and was given the death penalty and a young ensign was sentenced to one year hard labor.

After that, the truth behind the colony drop and new weapons development was erased and the young ensign’s crimes were said to have been expunged. As for Murphy, he seemed to have considerable discontent over the outcome of the court-martial having served under the direct control of Synapse.

Furthermore, he later heard about the Earth Federation Forces way of erasing records of the truth behind the colony drop and new weapons development and was considerably critical of it afterwards.

In fact, Murphy had fought along with the new weapons. The case clearly appeared in military records until the development program was deleted. Even that fact was erased.

The Titans picked up Murphy. Conrad felt at this stage it may have been on a whim by Bask Om.

Now, Eliard was discussing this in front of him.

How happy he felt when he was assigned to the Titans. How proud he felt when engaging in an operation as the Titans. How much he revered Murphy on the battlefield. And how much he loved the members of his team.

He talked about various operations. There was no letter of failure for the Murphy team’s combat experience for it was a team that didn’t allow for failure.

They were a test team.

First and foremost, they were to operate and test newly developed weaponry. A team always haunted by danger.

They assembled the trouble makers and assigned them the most dangerous missions. That was the Titans way of doing things. But, Eliard wasn’t the least bit bothered by that. He felt pride and joy being in the Titans.

It was evident from his way of telling his story that he was being absolutely sincere just by his mental state. Plus, he had survived. While listening to his story, Conrad felt a lump in his throat.

Eliard reached a point in his story where he could pause.

The silence that followed showed how deeply moved Conrad was.

After a while, Conrad spoke.

“I have to ask you about your first charge.”

“Sir.”

Eliard’s facial expression suddenly darkened.

“July of 0085. At the time, you were assigned to the battleship Aswan of the Confeito Defense Forces as a member of the Murphy Team, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Having rendezvous with a certain transport in satellite orbit above the moon, you were ordered to escort it to Side 1. Am I right?”

“Let me be clear, you’re talking about the 30 Banchi Incident?”

“I would like to go step by step here.”

“That transport was loaded with G3 poison gas. That G3 gas was used to massacre the inhabitants of Side 1’s 30 Banchi.”

Conrad took a deep breath and let it out sharply. Eliard was blaming himself. It’s only natural to think about the seriousness of the “30 Banchi Incident”, but he would fail by all means defending a defendant who blames himself.

“Eliard,” Conrad spoke calmly, “I only want to know the facts from you.”

“What do you mean? That is one of the facts. G3 which was used on 30 Banchi was most definitely loaded onto the transport which I guarded and sent along to Side 1.”

Conrad shook his head.

“That’s not what I mean. That is most definitely a fact. However, there is a different truth to you.”

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”

“The most important thing, whether you knew the contents of the shipment.”

“Whether I knew or not, all of the residents of 30 Banchi were killed. That is a fact.”

“So was your story of carrying out your missions with pride just a lie then?”

Conrad made his tone just a little stern. Eliard was staring at Conrad as if caught off guard.

“No, sir,” Eliard answered with a look of surprise. “It was not a lie whatsoever.”

“No matter when, you carried out your mission with pride as a Titan?”

“That is correct. But, the Titans weren’t the organization I thought they were.”

“You’re wrong,” Conrad said, particularly firmly, “Jamitov Hymem and Bask Om’s motives are irrelevant to you. When the Titans were first established it was to gather the very best officers and soldiers around. It was an elite unit by no exaggeration. Acts of terrorism sharply declined after the Titans were created and this is proven because postwar clean up progressed without stopping. That is the kind of Titans you probably took pride in.”

Eliard looked straight at Conrad.

“That’s right.”

“So then, as for the Murphy Team, you were thinking how quickly and accurately you could complete your missions, am I right?”

“I agree with what you said.”

The spark, typical of a soldier, returned to Eliard’s eyes.

“Mind you, Eliard. I don’t want to hear any sissy complaints. If you want to drown in your own sorrows, then save it for after the trial has ended. This is my battle. This is a rescue mission to save you from this predicament. If you stand in my way, then I’m giving up on you.”

“A rescue mission…?”

“That’s right. My weapon is the truth. Yes, it’s true the transport was loaded with G3. But, facts such as that were given to the media. What I want is your own truth. The truth of what was going on and what you were thinking as you were carrying out your missions.”

Eliard stared at Conrad in silence. Conrad felt there was determination slowly emerging in his eyes.

“So, how about it? You feel like fighting with me?” Conrad asked.

Eliard nodded slowly.

“Yes, sir,” he replied. “The Murphy Team never gave up until the end. If you’re calling this a fight, then it’s impossible to lose.”

Conrad smiled without even realizing it.