Chapter 209: Interview

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Author's Note:
Documents that the MC investigates are cited from 1-3. There is an appendix at the end of the chapter if you want to view the documents yourselves.

Reminder:

Chapter 210 will be the final chapter of Summoning America.

– –

Falk strode into the briefing room with Helmuth trailing, the room's sterile emptiness a faint echo of the IBC's façade of importance. General Siegs and Admiral Karlmann were already waiting, documents spread across the table like some crude exhibition. The two of them – a veteran General and a Naval chief – seemed to think themselves essential, holding court with their papers as if they held the keys to the Empire's future. Falk took a seat, folding his hands with a faint air of impatience. This was a mere formality, after all; these men would soon realize the futility of opposing Marix.

Helmuth stole his initiative, laying out the facts of the meeting with unnerving neutrality. "Gentlemen, we're here to discuss the alleged obfuscation practices carried out by Chancellor Marix's office," he announced, his tone as precise and unimaginative as ever. "Specifically, the suppression of battlefield losses and the broader accusation that Marix has orchestrated a coup against the Emperor."

Falk crossed his arms, waiting for the inevitable endorsement of Marix's methods. Surely, Siegs would fall in line like the rest, trotting out the usual platitudes about wartime necessities. But Siegs wasted no time. "Over the past year, Marix's office has been altering military reports. Casualties erased, defeats rewritten as stalemates – even... 'victories.' I've sent up details, facts, and they come back to me gutted, stripped of truth."

Falk's eyebrows shot up, the revelation momentarily throwing him off balance. Alterations? Well, alterations weren't unusual in times of war. A little varnish on the facts to keep morale intact – hadn't they all seen it before? But Siegs wasn't talking about a little varnish; he was describing something closer to camouflage, the sort that could make a man step into enemy fire without even knowing it.

Falk couldn't accept this. "Perhaps they were deemed unnecessary; the reports... erm, optimized? Wartime demands a certain efficiency, after all. Not every detail requires public consumption."

Surprisingly, Siegs didn't relent. "Public consumption?" he scoffed. "For a man so inclined to war, you certainly know little of it. Forget about 'public consumption' for a moment. What do you think happens to our plans when we've little to build upon? When our own reports are altered before they reach us, it becomes impossible to manage operations effectively. Marix has shown a clear disregard for transparency."

Falk found himself groping for the usual words, the familiar defense suddenly feeling hollow. "You're suggesting transparency, but unchecked exposure has consequences. We have to consider morale, General. We cannot waste our time worrying about some – some symposium on ethics! This is war."

"You?" Siegs leaned forward, a dismissive smirk on his face, "educating me, one of the Three Great Generals, on war?" He leaned back with a smile. Whether it was borne of extreme annoyance or genuine absurdity was almost impossible to tell. "Please, Senior Investigator. I would hardly lecture you on how to conduct your investigations, lacking as you are. I am simply telling you the facts: Marix and his office have manipulated critical war documents."

The intensity in Siegs' eyes invoked the slightest twinge of discomfort within Falk. He glanced at Helmuth, who seemed content to let Siegs continue.

"I'll lay it out plainly. Marix is engineering the information. He's removing officers loyal to the Emperor, assigning them to distant posts without consulting command. I've seen men who were staunch defenders of the Emperor suddenly disappear from key positions. Isolated, shuffled away like pawns."

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