Irina was sitting right on Ironwood's chair, looking as the Reapers began settling in and capturing the civilians left stranded in Mantle and Atlas alike. She swinged a cup she had at hand with a little bit of a drink left. She saw as civilians were escorted back into some of the buildings, while others were taken and forced to work on bolstering their progress on the building of airships or helping to restore Atlas in general

But she was not paying much attention to that. She was remembering her days as a kid, hearing the stories of her bed-ridden grandfather

"And then I took both of them onto a boat and they sued for peace" he said, looking at her. Once the founder of the clan, all that remained was a decrepit old man, with the only thing left in life being the days before his demise.

"And that kiddo, is how your old man Zach made the kingdom that...your father hopefully will lead to a better future" he said

Back on the present, she looked down as the bodies of those who resisted were thrown into the fire. Whether they were alive or not wasn't of the Reapers' concern. Irina took a last sip of her drink and turned around to receive an special visit

A "Reaper" wearing not the reglementary cowl and cape, but rather just the cape, with a antique black uniform beneath it. Although what stood out the most was the cigar the person carried on their mouth beneath their bushy mustache

"Irina…" he said

"Mm...High Commander. If you made the trip all the way from Mossholm, you must have something important to tell me" she replied, getting up from her chair

"And I do. You remember that manhunt from some years ago we did on that defector?" he said, as he stopped in front of one of the bookshelves in Ironwood's office

"I do. Why are you asking?" she replied

"Well. The defector's son is around the same place where 2 of our sleeper cells are. Vacuo City to be precise. I rest assured Gambit disclosed their encounter with him"

"Well, they did not. But...This development compensates for that slip. Can't blame them, probably a product of tunnel vision. Anyways. What are you suggesting?" said Irina, stepping away from Ironwood's desk

"While I'm waiting for their report to come from Argus, I do believe we could use this to our advantage to further weaken any resistance we may encounter once we cross into Sanus"

"Hmm. So...enemy of our enemy is a friend?"

"Indeed"

"Well. Go ahead with it, High Commandeer"

"We would. But the problem is triggering it too soon. We haven't been able to break the resistance in Anima, which may prevent us from taking Argus and beginning our advance"

"What is preventing you from breaking it?"

"A certain resistance headed by the Branwen bandits. At least its what our expeditionary force can tell. We are working on it, Miss President, don't worry"

"Good. I guess we both will be heading back to Mossholm" said the High Commander, taking another smoke from his cigar

Someone else would be allowed in. It was the Chancellor,

"Actually, Miss President. Both you and the High Commander should, in my humble opinion, return to Mossholm with Doctor Selestina. His findings require your attention and a more secure space"

"Why do you say so, Chancellor?" asked Irina, placing her cup on Ironwood's desk as she walked forward

"One of our scouts on the tundra found a settlement, headed by these 2 individuals"
The Chancellor hands Irina a folder. She then grabs it and immediately pulls out a picture, showing 4 individuals exiting a tent. 3 of them were in the debrief Ironwood had given Gambit's team some days ago

"Hmm. 3 of these are familiar. Atlesian Fugitives" says Irina

"Good. They may come in handy for our campaign and-" the High Commander stated, but was interrupted by Irina

"Not quite. They cooperate with the rebels in Vacuo. They are to be captured alive"

"Miss...President. I don't understand. Shouldn't we eliminate them?" asked the High Commander, a bit perplexed. Irina normally gave the order to eliminate targets

"No. I want these ones alive. These 3 in specific. White hair, Black hair and the Blonde lady are all priority targets that you must get here. All the others can die"

"I understand, Miss President but...I still don't get how their presence can help us" says the High Commander, as Irina handed him the file and picture as she headed out of the office

"Simple. We hold them as ransom and seize the relic that those rebels are holding. An easy victory"

The High Commander took his time to look at the picture, before putting his cigar back into his mouth and leaving the office, but stopping next to the Chancellor

"Just know, this doesn't make their upcoming fate any better" said the High Commander to the Chancellor before exiting the office

"I'm well aware...High Commander" said the Chancellor, before walking forth towards Ironwood's desk to look down at Atlas and Mantle. The initial occupation had succeeded. The flag of the Commonwealth waved unimpeded on the top of every skyscraper.

A white and black cross that separated 4 differently coloured corners. Yellow on the bottom left, Purple on the bottom right, Red on the top right and a darker shade of blue on the top left. In the center, a stencil-type print on a pyre within a white and black circle

"Intellect, Bravery, Strength and Unity...huh?" the Chancellor said to himself

"Unitatis per fortitudinem" he said again to himself, before turning back to seat on Ironwood's chair, prepared to take charge of the operation in Atlas

Sinner, now called Oculus, had just arrived to Trolesund, following the notification he got to join a fresh manhunt. They stood firmly among the ranks, while one of the Executioners came towards them and stood in front of them

"Reapers!" the Executioner called out

"Ura!" the ranks answered

All of them answered in unison, saluting by placing their dominant hand on their chest, aligned with their heart. Oculus, being ambidextrous, placed their right hand on their chest and held his left arm behind his back

"At ease!" the Executioner responded

All the ranks resumed their positions, both arms behind their backs

"I'm Reaper Meridian. I speak on behalf of Reaper Manticore, assigned leader of team GRMM, which will be commanding this manhunt"

Oculus tried looking at the stage, barely capable of identifying their mentor next to the Executioner speaking

"You have all been summoned here today to hunt and kill 2 of our own who decided to betray our brethren and abandon our cause"

2 of the executioners, one of them being Reaper Manticore, stepped forth and handed a framed picture to 2 random people on the first row, who handed the picture to the row behind after a minute

"The 2 traitors you are seeing are Marcus Black, formerly Reaper Marble, and Veronica Vulcanova, formerly Reaper Vulture. They betrayed and killed their comrade, Reaper Hephaestus, and went on the run, tarnishing not only team Aeneid, named outside conventions, but also the sacrifice of their fallen comrade, Reaper Rhea"

The pictures finally got to Oculus' row. One was a gray haired man, brandishing a stubble beard. The other was unknown to them and would remain that way, as he couldn't see it before their row had to pass the pictures to the row behind them

"Ever since, they have been on the run, but recent reports confirm they are working their way through Suidwes to escape into Vacuo. Are your instructions clear?" said Executioner Meridian

"Yes, Sir!" everyone replied

"You're dismissed!"

Everyone then disbanded, eachm going on their own. Oculus went for a nearby tavern to begin planning their course of action. Suidwes was full of desert on its borders with Dongnan and Juno, while it had lush jungle as it approached the shore

"Oculus...you were summoned here too?" said someone familiar behind Oculus. It was Manticore

"Oh. Executioner Manticore"

"Please...we're at the bar, drop that off please. I don't want to talk duty with you. You literally became a Reaper today and you're already drinking?"

"Well. Had to find a place to settle down and begin planning for duty"

"Hmm. Decision. I like that. Anyways. How is your planning going?"

"Not quite there yet. Thinking how to get through the jungle so I can catch both of them off guard at the shore. Knowing Suidwes, they can sneak out anywhere...I don't think we have enough people...or ordnance. I think we should requisition a sea vessel to patrol the shores just in case"

Manticore was discretely broadcasting everything to Meridian, while Meridian himself was on a call with the Army Council

"Hmm. Well. I will also need a teammate. I can only do so much on my own….plus I can't precisely count with Orantes anymore"

"Hmm. That is true. Although I have someone from her same walkings. Iberia was it, in Juno?"

"Yeah...Western Iberia"

"Good. Hey! Come here" said Manticore to someone sitting on the far corner of the tavern, who came up

"Yes ma'am?" said the stranger.

"Oculus, this is Reaper Traianus. You're now best friends...Good? Good. Now, anything else?"

Oculus was just sitting there awkwardly, not knowing very well what to say

"Okay. Cool" said Traianus

"Alright. Then I will leave you 2 to it"

"So...You are Oculus…"

"Yeah. Old Lady Manticore introduced us, I get it. You graduated where?"

"Niflheim, just like you"

"Oh...Hmm never saw you there"

"Eh. I spent most of the time at the training grounds"

"Hmmph...Orantes always dragged me and Manzula to the library" said Oculus to himself

"Well. Anything you have on this...manhunt we got summoned in as freshmen?"

"Nope. Well….maybe if we get on our way we can figure something out on the way"

"So early on? Let me get a drink"

"Nope. We're going"

Traianus then got up from the chair and left some cash on the counter. Oculus did the same and followed reluctantly, carbine on shoulder. Unseen to both of them, Manticore was standing on an alley

"Hmm. Old lady Manticore. Respect your superiors, kid" she said to herself

Then, she walked deeper into the alley, getting lost, while Oculus and Traianus began heading towards Suidwes, caught up in a conversation