Defection (MentalModel!Brothers and OC)

Chapter 1

I sat as patiently as I could in one of the two uncomfortable chairs within the small room, the starch white walls smothering my senses as a large highly reflective mirror along one wall forced me to stare at myself whenever I looked at it -- a one-way looking glass into a darkened room right next to this interrogation room where onlookers could watch in silence at whatever I did.

Despite knowing that, I couldn't help but fidget in the silence, tucking my hands under my knees as I swung my feet beneath the chair while glancing around the room. A sore spot made itself known on my left wrist, causing me to suck in a breath and look at the joint more closely. My eyes softly closed while replaying the last two hours in my head.

When the KMS Admiral Hipper had cut a path between the three Fleet of Fog destroyers and the fleeing cruiser that had sent out the distress signal, it instantly became a fight on three fronts as the American cruiser, Fog destroyers, and land-based anti-ship missile batteries had opened up on Hipper and myself. When he had taken care of one of the destroyers, the American cruiser had stopped firing on us as did the missile batteries. The remaining two destroyers were sunk without much of a problem, but the shield surrounding the Admiral Hipper had taken extensive damage from the opening barrage, shattering right after the fight and leaving his hull exposed to enemy fire.

Thankfully, the American Defense Fleet didn't turn their guns towards us, instead opening a line of communication with the Admiral Hipper. When I had answered the communications console, I was ordered to lock down the Hipper's weapons and follow the cruiser into port, not given a chance to explain our intentions.

The man controlling the Fog warship had rolled his eyes at the demand, but complied without verbal protest. He received orders of which dock to pull into, scoffing when the large watertight doors had closed behind the warship and the hull rocked a little from a sudden stop, commenting about how they had some kind of mechanism attached to the hull as the water drained away from underneath the heavy cruiser. I had watched as the wall in front of the warship opened up to reveal an enormous underground port, whatever the KMS Admiral Hipper was attached to moving forward and stopping at a dry dock after sliding down a gentle slope. As soon as the walkways to the warship were secured, the man crossed his arms and sighed as he looked back towards me with a sad expression on his face.

"Thanks for giving me one last fight."

I was grabbed roughly from behind by a few men in thick armored gear as a squad of military police flooded the bridge and aimed their rifles at the man's head and chest. I had called out that he wasn't going to hurt them as I was dragged out of the bridge and deeper into the base before being shoved into this room, my arms forced behind my back the whole way.

Dropping my hands back into my lap at the end of the recollection, I turned my head towards the only door in the room as it opened, my heart racing as I saw two men enter in full military regalia with clipboards tucked underneath one of their arms. I didn't dare to say anything, instantly recognizing their ranks by the marks on their uniform sleeves.

A thick gold band near the wrist was closely followed by a slim gold band, a single gold metal star pinned near the forearm, marking the older gentleman as a Rear Admiral. The younger-looking man was wearing a dress uniform jacket, his sleeves bearing three medium-sized gold bands with a single star above them, indicating his Commander rank.

I sank lower into my seat as the Rear Admiral sat across from me at the table between the two chairs, the Commander taking a spot behind his left shoulder. The silence grew thick with tension as the Rear Admiral glanced over the paperwork on the clipboard. I waited for either of them to speak first, my childhood etiquette lessons coming to the forefront of my mind.