The pencil scratched the paper quickly. Sven was good at taking notes, capturing information and transcribing it so that it could be used again later. This was usually his role in meetings: to keep quiet, to listen, to write down. Of course, he wasn't the only one capable of that, but this time RHM chose him especially for this new strategy meeting.

The news had come earlier in the day: the Earth Team had located Reginald, who was being transferred to a secret government prison. The convoy consisted of dozens of cars of common appearance. Most of them were pickups. Apparently they had tried to camouflage the military vehicles to make it look like a Road Trip in the desert.

Their plan would surely have worked if the Toppats hadn't thought to put spies everywhere. One of them spotted Reginald briefly as he climbed into one of the cars. Apparently his condition was sad to see, and it only took one glance to see his fatigue and bruises.

As leader of the Toppats, the government had probably tried to make him talk under torture ...

"The convoy will arrive in the middle of the night," said RHM, who led the meeting. The prison is untraceable, even with our satellites. It is surely hidden by a camouflage. Based on the information, we have established a perimeter of where it might be. The perimeter is large, we must intercept the convoy before it gets there. Otherwise, we will lose track of it, both because of the night and because of another camouflage."

Harold, a colleague of Sven's who also specialized in information gathering, raised his hand to intervene:

"There have been speculations about what weapons our enemies might have, but it's all very unclear. Should we avoid a frontal attack? That would be the most prudent thing to do.

- It's only prudent if our enemies know that we are attacking them," replied the cyborg.

The chief observed all the recruits he had called for this meeting:

"This is the plan, he said. We are going to compose an A Team, in charge of attacking the convoy from the front. It will be sent to Earth with the teleporter ray. Team A will be accompanied by Team B, a smaller team that will have to dodge the battle and bypass the convoy, in order to infiltrate the vehicles and free Reginald. We must imperatively take advantage of the surprise effect, it will be our best asset".

Everyone nodded their heads, seeing nothing wrong with the plan... except Sven, who as usual forgot his manners and spoke without permission:

"Wouldn't it be better to send only the B team and forget about frontal combat? We could create a diversion with something else, something that wouldn't directly endanger our comrades?"

Harold nodded, happy to see they had the same idea, while other Toppats frowned. It was when he was shot in the eyes that Sven realized that his intervention could be perceived as impertinence, and he looked down with embarrassment.

RHM, however, took some time to think about the proposal. All the ideas were good to consider:

"What could be diverting enough to give our team time to intervene? The problem is that we need to send a team, no matter what the plan is. And we have only one way to send that team to Earth: the teleporter ray. But this ray is conspicuous, our enemies will see it directly. So we might as well make it look like we're attacking them from the front. The government will think that we are attacking them by surprise, without suspecting that the purpose of the maneuver is to create a diversion to allow certain Toppats to slip out of the fight and deliver Reginald."

Sven raised his eyes, attentive to his explanations. He nodded his head, understanding the arguments and having nothing to say about the moment.

They then discussed the composition of the teams, as well as the place and time at which the operation would take place. When the meeting ended, everyone knew what they had to do, and they left to complete their task.

Sven stayed in the room, scribbling down his final notes, then reading everything again to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, wanting to take advantage of the fresh ideas. Nevertheless he was interrupted when he felt a hand on his shoulder, which made him jump violently.

His start surprised RHM, who was the one who had approached him.

"C-Chief, you' re still here? the younger one wondered.

- And you too. Take a break before continuing your tasks.

- Of course, I just want to make sure that I've written everything down..."

His superior had a slight smile, came to take off his hat to caress his head:

"You're doing a good job, I'm not worried."

Sven became more red, not being able to hold the older man's gaze any longer. Amused, RHM decided not to bother him anymore and gave him his hat before walking away, but he stopped when Sven stopped him:

"Chief, I'm... I'm sorry for my intervention, I shouldn't have questioned your decision."

The cyborg looked at him, intrigued:

"Yes, you were right to do it. My decisions aren't always right, I can make mistakes, and debates allow me to find better solutions. The only thing I blame you for is that you intervened without permission, but it's your impulsive side that does that."

Sven puffed up his cheeks:

"I'm not impulsive!" he exclaimed.

RHM smiled maliciously:

"Suddenly raising your voice at your boss, isn't that impulsive in your opinion?"

Understanding his mistake, the blond man bit his tongue, crossing his arms, seemingly sulking. This snatched a laugh from the cyborg, who returned to him, only to bend over and come naturally to take a kiss from him. He perceived a hiccup of surprise on the part of Sven, and when he stood up he had the pleasure of seeing the youngest who was blushing more and more.

"Ahah...I guess I'm impulsive myself sometimes~" joked the chief.

But their little game was interrupted by a clearing of the throat. Both turned their eyes to the entrance of the room, to see Hanz standing in the doorway. Immediately Sven looked down, pretending to concentrate on his notes to hide his discomfort, while RHM seemed no more embarrassed to have been caught in the act.

"Hanz, what's wrong? asked the cyborg as he approached his friend.

- ... I've come to ask for instructions, to find out how the meeting went.

- You didn't need to come, I would have come to see you.

- I doubt it, you looked busy."

Sven nibbled his lip as he felt Hanz's gaze on him, and he wouldn't let go. RHM shrugged:

"I think I can give myself a little break before I come to see you, don't you? Let's go to my office."

He invited him to follow him, wishing above all to keep Hanz away from his young lover, whom he saw becoming anxious. Hanz, who found it difficult to detach his gaze from the blond man, an intrigued gaze that didn't please Right very much.

They left the room, heading for the office, but RHM tensed up when the other spoke:

"So it's true, you replaced Reginald with that kid?

- Sven is not a 'kid'. He's younger than us, but he's an adult.

- He's not even 30 years old, he's a kid. Do you like young kids now, or was he just easier to approach than the others?"

Right's voice became more cold and annoyed:

"My relationship with him is none of your business. Don't take your frustration out on me."

Hanz grimaced and looked away:

"...Sorry, it's true that it was indiscreet. But seriously, if we bring Reginald back, what are you going to do? This kid seems to really like you, and not just as a sexual partner."

The cyborg looked worried, hesitant before declaring:

"Right now I want to focus on saving Reg. That's the priority."

Hanz rolled his eyes, clearly showing his disagreement even though he didn't insist.

The morning and early afternoon continued in an atmosphere that hadn't been there for a long time. Since Reginald's arrest the clan had become more discreet, had reduced the missions. But now that there was a possibility of saving their leader, the excitement had spread to the entire station. The Toppats were rushing from room to room, motivated to move their tasks forward, so that everything would be ready on time.

Sven was surprised, as he hadn't seen so many people in the corridors in a long time. But it warmed his heart to find such an atmosphere in the clan. In the last few weeks, everyone had seemed downhearted. But this rescue mission brought them new hope.

He arrived at the archive room, entered it and saw Harold sitting at the central table, flipping through documents. He approached and cleared his throat to get his attention:

"Um, Harold?

- Ah, Sven!"

His comrade raised his head and smiled broadly. Handsome Harold was one of those naturally jovial, yet unimpressed members. Generally it took a lot to take him by surprise, he was the kind of person who could adapt to any situation.

"You came for the documents? I'll get it out for you right away!"

He was also an easy-going Toppat, a little talkative, but he had the merit of being honest, and above all he had a good background. It was nice to have him as a colleague.

Harold handed him the requested documents. Sven took them, but the other didn't give him time to leave, and immediately exclaimed:

"Actually, you were great during the meeting! Challenging the chief's plan like that was really cool!"

Sven blushed softly:

"Um... It was no big deal. And then it was you who submitted the idea first.

- I said that the frontal attack was not a good idea but when the chief contradicted me I didn't dare to insist. You had no hesitation in explaining your arguments! Really, I admire you!

- ... you exaggerate... But thank you."

The blond man smiled and Harold laughed and tapped him on the shoulder:

"Ahah, I'm sincere! There are plenty of idiots who say you dared to talk like that because you' re having a relationship with the boss, but frankly I don't believe it! I mean, RHM isn't the kind of person to make such favoritism. He would have listened to anyone's plan, but you're the only one who dared to speak up, and that's something!"

Sven tensed up:

"What...? People really think that...?

- Yeah, a whole bunch of jealous people! Poor thing, I understand your misfortune! People as great as us are bound to get jealous!"

The youngest didn't know where to stand, completely embarrassed to receive so much praise from his colleague.

"I'm not sure, Harold... I'm just doing my job...

- Awesome and modest! Ah, I am so happy to work with you, you are the perfect employee! No wonder the boss trusts you so much! You and I are really the best duo, let's keep up the good work!"

Sven was all red. He nodded, because he knew Harold was too stubborn to understand that "no, he wasn't perfect". Satisfied, Harold smiled at him one last time and then went back to work, letting him go without further insistence.

Relieved, the blond man quickly ran away, his heart pounding. He wasn't used to receiving so many compliments, but at the same time Harold was a positive person who always saw qualities in others - and especially in himself.

Trying to recover from his emotions, he accidentally bumped into the shoulder of another colleague who was coming in the opposite direction.

"A-Ah, sorry!" he stammered before quickly resuming his road.

The colleague, who had frowned when he saw him so embarrassed and red, watched him leave without a word before looking back to the archive room, and especially at Harold, who seemed even more jovial than usual.

"... Well, the chief isn't enough for him..." he criticized.

Carol put a strand of hair back in place, thinking she'd better tie it up. She was tired of them blocking her view as she tried to do her bookkeeping quietly. She sighed, annoyed, and looked in her desk drawers for a rubber band. But of course she didn't have one. She sighed again and got up, and left the room and headed for Earrings' room. You never know, her comrade might have something to help her out.

But she stopped walking when she heard voices coming from the adjacent hallway. Oh, she wasn't a gossip, she didn't care what others might say, and she was usually on her way. But this time the words they used had captured her intention:

"I'm sure he fucked other people! commented a female voice - which Carol recognized as Joan's. The chef, then Harold... there must be others.

- Burt no doubt, replied Kayn's voice. They're often together.

- Do you think so? Burt doesn't seem interested in that kind of thing, and he's too busy with work to waste his time frolicking.

- Because the boss doesn't have too much work, you say?

- Mm... okay, you make a good point. But the boss spends a lot of time in his private office, so it's easier for Sven to fuck with him. While Burt's in a shared office, if they were doing anything together it would be noticeable.

- Maybe..."

There was silence. That's when Carol realized she had held her breath. With her fists clenched, she managed to keep her composure, even though the urge to say a few words made her itch. But it was a blow to make things worse. According to her, if we ignored the rumors, they would disappear, whereas if we paid attention it would get worse.

She blew a good blow to calm herself down, and decided to go on her way as if nothing had happened, finally revealing her presence to the other two and passing them without paying attention to them. Joan and Kayn didn't really react, probably believing that she hadn't heard their conversation - because everyone knew that Carol wasn't paying attention to the others.

Yet the accountant had heard everything, and even though she tried to forget it, she felt her stomach was in knots. She was really hoping it wouldn't get worse, because Sven didn't deserve this...

Should she talk to him about it? It wasn't a good idea. Last time, it seemed to upset him. He was very sensitive, and that was understandable. The Clan was a family, and to know that this 'family' was talking behind his back was too hurtful.

She sighed for the umpteenth time, hoping that Reginald's return would improve the situation. Maybe that would put an end to all these rumors, although she didn't believe in them too much.

Sven sighed deeply, exhausted but relieved. He had finished his last file and dropped it off at the armory. It was his last task and he was very happy about it. Now all he could look forward to was taking a shower and trying to take a nap. The plan would take place in just a few hours, he wanted to be in shape even if he wasn't part of the teams going to the field.

RHM was part of the A-team, the one that would fight at the front. His cyborg abilities would probably make it easier for him to stand up to their enemies, and his status as a new leader would make him the preferred target. But even though diversion was his goal, Sven's throat was tied just by imagining that he might be injured.

He shook his head, trying to dispel that thought. He shouldn't make himself sick with worry. RHM had been on dangerous missions many times before and he had always gotten away with it... except for his fight with Henry Stickmin, which had left him badly injured. The clan had been forced to call in a scientist, Dr. Vinschpinsilstien, who made his robotic additions.

"... Damn..."

Sven passed a hand over his face. He really needed to take his mind off things, before he had an anxiety attack. As soon as he entered his room, he took off his hat and jacket. However, he had just started to open his shirt when someone knocked on his door.

Intrigued, not accustomed to being picked up directly from his quarters, Sven clumsily closed his chemise so as not to welcome his visitor with his shirt off. He came to open the door, glanced down the corridor, and was surprised to meet Hanz's gaze. Of course he quickly became uncomfortable remembering that morning.

"Uh... Mr. Hanz, can I help you?

- I'm not disturbing you?

- ... well, I was going to take a break, but otherwise not. Do you need anything?"

He opened the door a little more so he wouldn't seem too rude to hide behind it.

Hanz looked at him at length, noticed his poorly buttoned shirt that let the white skin on his neck show through. Nevertheless he made no comment and looked him in the eyes again:

"I don't need anything. But I wanted to congratulate you, I was told about your speech at the meeting".

Sven didn't hide his amazement. That Harold gave him a compliment wasn't so surprising, his colleague was a nice person who had the easy compliment. But from Hanz? It was incredible, almost impossible. He blushed in spite of himself, because he always found it hard to hide his embarrassment.

"I...Thank you, but it was nothing...

- On the contrary. You've probably heard this before, but it's very important to have people like you giving their opinions. We have too many inactive people in the clan."

Sven didn't know what to say. He rubbed his neck and looked away:

"I don't think I'm particularly 'active' ... I try to do what I think is right for the clan, like everyone else. Everyone has something to contribute.

- Everyone has a role to play, but some Toppats don't take it seriously and expect their work to be taken care of for them. They prefer to let others do it, and if a mistake is made they can avoid their responsibilities. Whereas you, on the other hand, have no hesitation in doing your job and giving your opinion, even if you make mistakes. That's remarkable, and I don't say that lightly, so please accept this compliment because I never pay it to those who don't deserve it."

The younger one observed his comrade and biting his lower lip, not knowing where to stand, but trying to look good anyway.

"O-Okay, he stammered.

- That's good. And I'm counting on you to support RHM, he needs someone like you by his side, at least until Reginald is back."

Sven tensed up a little, but nodded his head as Hanz looked worried:

"Mm... Besides, I'll have to talk to him about that...

- ... Talk to him about what?"

Hanz looked at him hesitantly, before looking left and right to check that there was no one around. He lowered his voice:

"After the rescue mission, I'd like to ask RHM to keep command of the clan.

- What? I... Why? Isn't Reginald in the best position to give us orders?

- I respect Reginald, and he is a very good friend. But as a leader, I think RHM brings us more. He has good ideas, authority, and he's brave. He has the qualities of a leader, while Reginald... Reginald is smart, but too cowardly. I think he would be better suited to assist RHM than the other way around."

Sven wasn't sure:

"...Being a leader is a big responsibility... and I don't think RHM likes the role. Maybe he's a good leader right now because he hasn't been for a long time, but if this situation drags on he might crack under the pressure, I think."

He thought the older man would be upset with his answer, but he opened his eyes when, for the first time, he saw Hanz offer him an amused smile. He had never seen him smile before, especially so gently!

"I enjoy talking with you Sven. It's nice to be face to face with someone who isn't afraid to assume his disagreement."

He stepped towards him, stepped into the room, and Sven held his breath. Again he didn't know how to react, the situation seemed surreal to him, and his face became even redder when Hanz tousled his hair:

"Right is lucky to have you. I hope he doesn't make the mistake of replacing you."

At his words, Hanz stepped aside, turned around and disappeared into the hallway. Sven was speechless, his heart beating, but he didn't know how he was supposed to feel. Hanz had embarrassed him, and hearing him compliment him in this way had pleased him. But... the mention of Reginald, and the possibility that RHM could replace him... All of this made his joy fall back and give him a heart-warming hug.

He closed the door of his room, his eyes moist, but a hand passed over his face. He was tired... yes, the only reason he was so sensitive, the only reason he was sad, was just because he was tired.

He just needed a little rest, and it would get better. He was sure he would...