- Oliver -

  The first image appeared: Mordred, his face stoid unyielding, along with the Encedus fg. The sed image showed an Ork seated upon a throne, exuding a menag aura. But the third image left Oliver utterly stu icture of himself in his Green Ranger armor.

  "What the hell?!" Oliver excimed aloud. Fortunately for him, his helmet had always remained active during the battle, cealing his fad preserving his anonymity. heless, seeing his own image dispyed among the Empire's most wanted sent a chill down his spihe photo didn't show him battling the Titans or aiding the soldiers; it was a static shot of him in his Green Ranger armor.

  The Emperor let a few heavy seds of silence hang over the crowd before tinuing his speech. "Today, I present to you the names and faces of those who threaten our security, our unity, and the glory of the Empire! These individuals are the very embodiment of treachery and chaos, and their as will not be tolerated!"

  The massive ss behind him shifted, zooming in on Mordred's stern visage.

  "The first of them is Mordred Lot," the Emperor decred coldly. "A degee heir of a bloodlihat once served with honor. He has decred the independence of Encedus—an act of rebellion that ot go unanswered. Worse still, he has allied himself with the Orks, selling his people's dignity for sordid promises and impure alliances. His as are nothing short of treason! Anyone who supports him will be deemed an aplid treated accly. Mordred is an enemy of the Empire, and there will be no mercy for him."

  Oliver reized Mordred, recalling the time he'd seen him during the exams. 'I never imagined he'd be insane enough to go against the Empire itself,' he thought.

  Quickly, Mordred's image faded, repced by an imposing Ork seated atop a throne fashioned from twisted metal and bones.

  "The sed threat is a witch among the Orks," the Emperor tinued, his disdain palpable. "A creature without a wielding power that must not be uimated. She is the one who uhe barbaric hordes, preventing our war against them from reag its rightful clusion. She is the beati of the Ork resistahe source of their endless chaos. Her destru is essential for the Empire's victory. She symbolizes everything we despise: savagery, disorder, and the reje of true civilization."

  'Who is she?' Oliver wohe fervor in the Emperor's voice suggested she held a high rank within the Ork hierarchy, perhaps even being the lin of their ret offensives.

  The Emperor paused, allowing the gravity of his words to settle over the crowd. Then, the ss shifted once more, and the image that appeared sent a spike of dread through Oliver's core—it was himself, the unmistakable Green Ranger armor.

  "And stly," the Emperor's voice dropped to a menag tone, "we have the most ret and perhaps most insidious threat. This man, whose identity remains unknown, has been sighted on our battlefronts. He wields a Unique Crystal nistered with the NEA nnized by the Empire. That alone is a crime. But his presehin our territories, his ability to evade our forces, and the mystery that shrouds him make him a dangerous enemy. Know that this is a direct order from your Emperor: he must be found and eliminated—no questions, no exceptions."

  Oliver's mind raced, a maelstrom of fusion and dawning realization.

  ‘How? Why?! I was helping the battle.’ he thought frantically. ‘Could he know that this armor belongs to another Sn? But how would he find out? Could he be our Alpha?’

  Oliver tried to sider other possibilities. ‘He might also hear the voice of the crystal and speak with whoever is within the Silver Crystal.’

  ‘But for him to want the Green Crystal eliminated as well... that seems like an order from a Sn,’ Oliver mused, the suspi gnawing at him.

  The Emperor took a deep breath, his voice gaining a renewed iy that echoed across the grand pza and through every broadcast el. "These individuals represent everything the Empire ot tolerate: treason, chaos, and insubordination. We must act with strength, vi, aainty that we are on the right side of history. For the Emperor, for the Empire, and for humanity, we will destroy them!"

  Lucius stepped back slightly from the podium, but the fervor in his eyes remained undiminished. As his words hung heavily in the air, he swept his ornate cape aside and quickly desded, making way for the speaker to take his pce.

  An officer Oliver didn't reize approached the podium—a man with streaks of bd-white hair and a gaze that veyed both wisdom and authority. the ceremonial uniform of the NEA, he carried himself with a posed dignity befitting his rank.

  The broadcast briefly dispyed his name and title.

  | General Stewart

  ‘A General? They didn't mention his division. Would it be Tanks or Mechs?’ Oliver wondered, noti anh-ranking figure he was unfamiliar with.

  General Stewart began to speak, his voice steady and anding. "I will now start the endation of each soldier, officer, and Ranger who tributed immensely during the defense operation of Olympus," he announced.

  "First and foremost, to the Blue Ranger, Oliver Nameless," Stewart tinued. "He was responsible for tinuing his operatioe suffering numerous losses in his team, obtaining critical information about the Titan produ, and alerting Half Wall of the impending attack." Steaused, allowing the significe of the achievements to resonate.

  "He will be awarded the Ranger's Distinguished Service Medal. Although he is still rec and therefore uo receive it in person, it will be delivered to him directly."

  Oliver sat there, jaw slightly agape. ‘I was actually the first to receive a endation,’ he thought with astonishment and pride. ‘It's a shame I couldn't be there.’

  He couldn't help but feel the irony of the situation. Just moments before, the Emperor had branded him an enemy of the Empire in his guise as the Green Ranger, and now he was being honored as a hero under his official identity. The duality of his existence was being increasingly fusing.

  ‘At least they haven't ected me to the Green Ranger... yet,’ Oliver mused.

  Many other endations were preseo numerous individuals, but the ohat caught Oliver's attention was a blond man with disheveled hair that gave him a certain charm.

  "The recipient is Nico Dardanus," General Stewart announced from the podium. "His performance over the past months has been exceptional. Participating in multiple defe Half Wall in the north and south bases, his as have been exempry and critical for humanity's survival in this war. To you, we award the Legion of Merit."

  As Nico asded the stage, the audience appuded. The general pihe medal onto the Ranger's uniform, the silver gleam refleg the lights of the grand hall.

  'Wait, he ted by a House?' Oliver thought, recalling the significe of the Dardanus name. 'Well, with the number of feats he's aplished, it was only a matter of time before someone saw beyond the fiasco he had at the NEA.' A genuine smile spread across Oliver's face. He was happy for his mentor and friend.

  "The endation is a joint award," General Stewart tinued. "Hank Scott and An Aqui. By piloting a prototype mech, they risked their lives to secure an advantage in battle. Their as were crucial in repelling the attack from the Lot forces and the Ork armada, as well as during the offensive against the Titans. Both will be awarded the Legion of Merit. Furthermore, co-pilot An Aqui will be promoted to pilot, receiving his own mech upon pletion of his training."

  Oliver sat up straighter, his eyes widening in disbelief. 'I—I was only unscious for three weeks... How did A—An wake up? How oh did he bee a mech co-pilot?' he wondered.

  Oliver remembered that before his mission, An had not spoken to him once, and he had not even been online. 'Wasn't he still in a a? Why didn't he reach out to me?' He mulled over the same questions, fusion swirling in his mind.

  As the broadcast tinued, General Stewart spoke about the phases of the 10th Wave and what would happen with Olympus. However, Oliver's attention waned. Instead, he opened his chat application on his gau.

  els

  - Exam1Group [4] [Private]

  Direct Message

  - AquiAn [4 New Messages]

  Oliver blinked in surprise at the notification of new messages. It seemed surreal that while he had been unscious, An had returo the world of the living.

  He opehe messages from An.

  AquiAn

  [AquiAn]: Hey... it's been a while, huh?

  [AquiAn]: Sorry for not saying anything sooner.

  [AquiAn]: Not the best way to tell you, but I woke up while you were doing the exams.

  [AquiAn]: I know I should have reached out as soon as... well, as soon as I woke up.

  [AquiAn]: I guess I just... felt a bit lost. I felt like I got left behind...

  [AquiAn]: I was too ashamed that I wouldn't be able to bee a Ranger and decided to ehe Mecha Squad.

  [AquiAn]: It's not an excuse, I know.

  [AquiAn]: Get well soo’s talk.

  'Asshole,' Oliver thought with a mix of relief and annoyance. 'You didn't o worry.' But he couldn't suppress a smile. He would talk more with his friends when they could meet.

  Returning his gaze to the broadcast, Oliver's smile faded. The camera was no longer focused on the podium. It trembled and shook erratically. Increasing the volume, he could hear screams and explosions eg stantly.

  As the camera regained focus, a thunderous explosioed where the guests had beeed moments before. The s was filled with blinding light and debris flying in all dires. The force of the bst sent chairs, banners, and fragments of the stage hurtling through the air.

  "What the hell is happening?" Oliver whispered, his heart pounding.