TF Amethyst

TFA1 3.14 - A Little Clue

In total 78 guards surrendered. Among them, Lieutenant Tome held the highest rank. From early morning until dawn, he was asked to lead the surrendered guards to move their comrades' corpses and clean up the bloodstains.

After that, they were asked to sit next to the main entrance while their comrades' bodies were cremated using a flamethrower. Then, anxiety began to grip their hearts as they watched TF Amethyst’s personnel enjoying some food without showing intention of sharing it.

Two centurions immediately approached Lieutenant Tome and sat down next to him. One of them then asked in a hushed voice, "Sir, they didn't feed us, will they execute us?"

"Maybe."

With a tone full of regret the second centurion said, "We should have followed your advice to fight to the last man."

Lieutenant Tome reflexively took a deep breath. "There's no point in regretting it now. Just focus on surviving."

The two centurions then lowered their heads languidly, while the dawn sun slowly appeared in the eastern horizon.

---

A few meters near the bonfire, four Main Raider’s personnel deftly opened seven MRE boxes, and then opened each package and separated the main menu, snacks, and sachets drinks.

While enjoying crackers and biscuits from the MRE’s package, the four personnel prepared the MRE main menu, pickled fruit, and 4 jerry cans of water for the surrendered guards.

Broadly speaking, the MRE used by TF Amethyst was the same as the MRE used by US Military. It was created with a philosophy so that front-line elements could enjoy hot food even if they couldn’t establish a field kitchen.

It had a decent taste, but in order to meet the requirements of long storage, components that were easy to decompose such as fiber were being minimized to the max. Therefore, the nickname Meal Refuse to Exit or Material Resemble Edible was still well attached to those MRE. Considering that continuous consumption of MRE without additional natural fiber could result in digestive disorders.

The slight difference was that cigarettes were being replaced with additional snacks. The number of sachet drinks was also being increased to 5 warm drinks and 5 cold drinks.

When everything was ready, one of the personnel immediately turned towards Lieutenant Tome and shouted, "Lieutenant, bring ten people here."

Wasting no time, Lieutenant Tome brought 10 men to the personnel who were preparing MRE, and then received an explanation.

"This is your breakfast. Open it by tearing at the part marked by the dotted line."

"Sir."

"For pickle fruit, if the sugar water is too sweet for you, you can add cold water as much as your preference."

"Sir."

A moment later, Lieutenant Tome and his men were happily enjoying their breakfast. Meanwhile, the four Main Raider’s personnel shared the snacks and drinks they got.

--- 

After enjoying the MRE, Lieutenant Tome immediately realized that TF Amethyst not only excelled in the military, but also excelled in culinary and very possible in other fields. Therefore, when he was told that Major Jansen wanted to ask some questions, Lieutenant Tome decided he would answer as honestly as possible.

Lieutenant Tome calmly followed a Main Raider’s personnel, and as he arrived at the command center, Major Jansen immediately invited him to sit down while introducing a man next to him.

"Lieutenant Tome, this is Major Maxwell and he wants to talk to you."

Lieutenant Tome nodded slightly while Major Maxwell smiled at him.

During his life, Lieutenant Tome had tasted the bitter fate of a prisoner of war. From his experience, he discovered that there were two types of interrogators. The first was Fake Angels who pry on intel using subtle means such as persuasion or manipulation. The second was a True Devil who liked to use hard methods such as torture.

But at this time, Lieutenant Tome could not decide whether Major Maxwell was a Fake Angel or a True Devil. So he concluded that Major Maxwell was the combination between Fake Angel and True Devil, or the third type of interrogator that he met for the first time.

While Lieutenant Tome was deep in wonder, Major Maxwell calmly started the conversation, "Lieutenant, tell me a little about yourself."

"Tome Burr, from Rinner Region, grew up in an orphanage, aged 14 joined Makai Guard, aged 16 entered the first battle, aged 22 became a Lieutenant, and in the same year my fiance married a son of a merchant.

Twice became a prisoner of war, in the last one was not redeemed by Kingdom of Makai and was bought by Ser Goran to become a guard in this mine."

After making a small note, Major Maxwell asked, "What made you and your men surrender to us?"

"People who should be leading us are dead or committed suicide and abandoned us. Meanwhile, our resistance will not affect the situation. So, survival is the path we choose."

"What do you know about the top leader or the owner of this mine?"

Lieutenant Tome shook his head slowly. "Nothing, I only know Ser Goran is an alias, and all the guards he recruits are from Kingdom of Makai’s territories and have no family."

"Lieutenant, do you know why there are four storage rooms besides the main storage?"

After a small nod Lieutenant Tome explained, "The gold bars that have been produced are being planned to be transported using Cloud Hawk. Twenty Cloud Hawks, once a week, each will carry 50 kg for every trip. Therefore, if the Cloud Hawk always lands in the same place, it is feared that it will raise suspicion.

The platoon that attacked TF Amethyst’s element was waiting for the Cloud Hawk that will make the first take."

Major Maxwell's eyes flashed for a moment before asked, "Do you mean, at that time 20 of Cloud Hawks were flying here?"

"Yes, but the take was canceled after the versus contact occurred."

Major Maxwell nodded and then turned to Major Jansen. "I need to get back to Harley Quinn to check something out."

"Okay," Major Jansen casually replied.

While putting on his jacket, Major Maxwell then asked Lieutenant Tome a final question. "What do you think if TF Amethyst intends to hire you and your men?"

"We are captives. We have no opinion."

"Good.” After a smile Major Maxwell continued, “Tell your men, TF Amethyst pays a good price for loyalty and honesty."

"Sir."

Wasting no time, Major Maxwell then rushed towards the exit.

*****