“What did you guys ask for?” Cale looked at them with a stink eye.
“Porn magazines, beers, and stuff.” One of the soldiers confessed with his head low in shame.
“Hahaha!” Miles couldn’t take it anymore and laughed out loud. “And I did bring them right?” When Miles went to the train station, he would meet soldiers stationed there. Thanks to Cale, other soldiers were good to Miles too, but they didn't know who Miles really was.
“You sure did.” The soldier looked at Miles with questioning eyes.
“Relax, Miles is not gonna tattle on you.” Cale sighed in relief when he realized what was going on. “How come you guys didn’t know who Miles was when I introduced him by his full name before?”
“Who would think he is a Cross when he is hanging out with us?.” One of the soldiers questioned back.
“Yeah, who would guess that the youngest grandson of the General would sit with us in a sweaty training room and gossip about women.”
“Also, there are many people with the same surname. Not like it is one of a kind.”
“I guess you guys are right.” Cale looked at them and thought it to be reasonable.
“Back to the topic,” Captain Vigur said after chuckling his share, “Brother Miles sure is Major General’s son. He is as stubborn as you.”
“You know my father?” Miles asked with surprise. Not many captains could say that they knew his father intimately. His father was after all a Major General and the son of a General. So, not any Tom, Dick, and Harry could say they knew him in person.
“You didn’t know?” Captain Vigur asked in surprise as he looked at Cale.
“I may have forgotten to mention it.” Cale giggled with embarrassment and explained, “We are all in the Cross faction. So we are your father’s men in a sense.” Cale proudly declared.
“Oh, so that is how it is.” Miles nodded understandingly . “Even Quinn?” he asked.
“Yeah, she is too,” Cale explained. “Although the army doesn’t accept the fact there are divisions, each influential family has some men in the army. Generals have more soldiers of course.
The same goes for the Police Force. Each family has their men working in the police force, but a major part of the Police Force is under the Anemone family.
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During the creation of Unity, families divided the forces of Unity into parts. Conflicts started to arise over profits. Mother AI suggested each family send their descendants to the army and police forces to reduce the suspicions and remove the borders between bodies of the government. But it didn’t work as it was planned. Families sent their descendants to the army or police force. No one sent by these families was a nobody. With strength and intelligence they rose in rank and started to create their own factions.
And now, the Army has three big factions and several smaller factions. The police force is pretty much divided into two. Half is in the hand of the Anemone family and the other fifty percent is divided equally by other families.
But that isn't all. The Parliament, tech firms, and other rich companies all have similar situations. There are spies in almost every faction, and there are many behind the curtain schemes to gain more powers designed by families at every corner.” Cale explained very slowly, but every sentence caused Miles to be astonished more and more. As the son of a Major General and grandson of a General, this must have been taught to him, but neither his father nor his grandfather ever mentioned it before.
‘Is it because I didn’t have any power before?’ Miles thought to himself with a self-mocking smile. ‘Father must have done it to protect me.’
“Lut Quinn is pretty close to your brother. So, other families are worried that two families will devour the rest. That is why there is so much pressure on the Cross family and Anemone family lately. The police force is boiling right now. I heard Kostas Anemone wanted to retire, but Mercer somehow talked him out of it.” Captain Vigur explained.
“Anyways, we are all the Major General’s men. That makes you one of us.” Cale smiled happily as he patted Miles’s shoulder. Miles knew that Cale said it to help him fit in the group better.
“Thanks. In exchange, I promise I will not tattle on my father that you ask me to smuggle in some videos about the famous Jcs Girl.” Miles smirked and said, “Oops, that should have been secret.”
“What! You bring him videos of the sexiest girl in Unity?” One of the soldiers exclaimed loudly. Cale’s face went beet red with embarrassment, while the rest was laughing out loud.
They sat and chatted for hours before they left one by one. Only Cale and Miles were left sitting at the table.
“You will not say that thing while we meet with Lut, right?” Cale asked with fake anger.
"Relax, I am not that much of a chatterbox." Miles patted the foot soldier's shoulder as he laughed. "What now?"
"Let's have another round of pool, I will break it this time," Cale said with confidence. After five minutes, he swore he would never play against Miles ever again.
"Alright, thanks for introducing me to others Cale." Miles thanked in gratitude. He knew Cale did it for him. Miles was outcasted by his family, so he had no political say. But by knowing some ranked soldiers, he would at least be in touch with the higher-ups even if he didn't want his parents' help.
"Don't mention it." Cale waved his hand. "Alright, let's disperse. I gotta go."
"Alright, see you later then." Miles bid farewell and left for his home.
“Who would have guessed there was so much hidden politics behind the scenes?” Coin said when Miles walked away.
“I was in the dark for too long. I was outcasted and weak, now that I gained some sort of strength and recognition, but it is inevitable for me to mingle in these sorts of situations. Although I don’t want to, I still carry that son of the bitch’s last name.”