howlofthewolf:
“Well, many of my advisers say fatherhood suits me.” Wolf smiled, his voice quiet, “They’re not wrong.”
He looked at Zelda proudly.
“This one, however, will be my last.” He said, “I’ve fathered a lot of children in my time on this plane of existence, Red… I’ve had bastards running around for years. In the culture I was raised in, it’s not unusual to have a lot of children. Hell, you’re not considered a man until you’ve fathered a bastard. However… I’m happy now that I’ve had Zelda here… She will be my heir.”
He looked over at Red(F). He’d changed considerably since they last saw each other. Some of his scars had faded slightly, except the one close to his left eye. His eyes, which had once had some brightness to them, were dark, weary from years of war. His unruly hair, currently done up in a small ponytail, was now flecked with gray.
Closing his eyes, and sighing, he went and placed Zelda gently into a cot, kissing her forehead. Walking back to the seat, he sat back down.
“A lot has happened.” He said, “A lot of things I regret… a lot of things I don’t.”
Tears formed in his eyes. Carefully, he hugged her.
“I am so… so … sorry…” He said tearfully, his shame taking over, “For everything that I have caused you… for everything I caused the GDI… I am so… so… sorry…”
At that moment, within his office Green was continuing to listen along as the Admiralty discussed a few more matters.
One benefit of being augmented to such a high extent was being able to keep up with multiple parallel lines of thought at once, and so as one part of his mind listened, another contemplated the state of affairs.
Green had always stood for order, and maintaining it was his highest duty. The fact that much of his actions had influenced Initiative threat response over the years hadn’t escaped him. But the words of Bellatrix rang true; his attempts to maintain order had been costly.
But if he was to use gentler means, what then? No matter the species, no matter the history, one principle was universal. Order and authority, in whatever form it took, was always needed.
However unethical it was, only the weight of authority kept societies from collapsing into chaos. And any threats to society would have to be dealt with immediately, with no hesitation, lest it grow out of control.
Green sighed internally. Without the Initiative to keep things safe, pirates and other criminal forces were once again running rampant, few though they were. CONCORD was performing admirably in culling their numbers, but nothing had permanent effect unless their worlds were hit.
The re-establishment of regular contact with the Bouzac was encouraging, but if Wolf was once again out there, then that complicated things.
He’d never liked warriors. Always too stuck up on their sense of honor to do what was necessary to achieve victory. There was no honor in conflict. Either the enemy died or you would. Anyone who thought otherwise was lying to themselves.
Wolf decided that now was the time to act. Stretching a bit, he got into his armour. Within the last few years, he’d upgraded that purposefully for the intention of beating foes like Green – reactive armour to deal with the damage they could deal, along with better shielding augmented with some magic crystals from Terra Ancora. He checked the hidden weapons, making sure they were all up to spec. He specifically checked the shotgun in his mechanical hand.
“Perfect.” He said to himself, then he went over to the console, and sent a message directly to Admiral Green. Punching in the codes, he sighed before putting on the Mask of Truth, turning on the voice scrambler.
“Admiral Green.” He said, “Your time has come. Come face your reckoning.”
Initiative Archival Network 