Commodore Vance POV
Commodore Vance had served in the Marines for twenty-six years.
He had watched recruits become respected officers. He had buried friends, defeated pirates, and protected more islands than he could remember. He had also learned that justice was rarely as simple as it appeared from the outside.
Vance stood on the balcony overlooking the base. Below him, hundreds of Marines walked between the buildings, but the usual energy was gone.
Some appeared furious and others looked ashamed.
A few had already submitted letters requesting permission to resign.
The livestream had accomplished something pirate attacks had failed to do. It had made the Marines question the organisation they served.
"Commodore, should we arrest the Marines discussing Dragon speech?" an officer asked.
Vance glanced at him.
"Do you intend to arrest half the base?"
The officer didn't answer.
"Return to your post," Vance ordered. "No one is to be punished for speaking unless they abandon their duties or endanger their comrades."
"Yes, sir."
After the officer left, Vance returned his attention to what Dragon had said.
He hated him for what he had done, he had had thrown a burning torch into a room filled with oil. Every Marine base in the world would now face the same doubts, arguments, and anger.
Yet Vance couldn't call him a liar because it is true that The World Government had used the Marines to protect the Celestial Dragons. It had ordered them to hide crimes, silence witnesses, and sacrifice innocent people whenever doing so served its interests.
Vance had spent years convincing himself that these compromises were necessary. Without the World Government, the Marines would lose their resources and pirates would spread across the seas without anyone powerful enough to oppose them.
However, there was a difference between accepting an imperfect system and willingly becoming its weapon.
Vance looked at the word Justice written across the backs of the Marines below.
"Lapdogs, huh?" he muttered.
Dragon wanted the Marines to turn against the World Government, but Vance knew that a sudden rebellion would only create more suffering. If the Marines collapsed overnight, pirates would take advantage of the chaos and attack defenceless islands.
Leaving wasn't the answer and blind obedience wasn't the answer either.
The Marines needed to decide what their justice truly meant.
Vance turned away from the balcony and walked back into his office. A pile of orders from Marine Headquarters waited on his desk, including one commanding him to suppress every discussion of Jack's livestream.
He picked up the document and tore it in half.
"Call every captain and lieutenant to the meeting room," he ordered.
His assistant stared at the torn paper.
"What should I tell them the meeting is about?"
Vance looked through the window at the Marines under his command.
"Tell them we are going to discuss whom our justice is supposed to protect."
Across the world, similar conversations were beginning inside Marine bases, warships, and training camps.
Some Marines cursed Dragon name and some rejected every word he had spoken.
Others began looking back at the orders they had followed and the innocent people they had failed to protect.
Jack livestream hadn't destroyed the Marines. It had done something far more dangerous to the World Government, which make them question the system.
...
Captain Silane POV
Silane had served as a Marine officer for three years. During that time, he had risen from a low-ranking Marine to the rank of captain.
His superiors considered him one of the most promising officers in his branch. His next promotion would place him among the commodores and Silane had worked hard for that position.
Pirates had killed his mother when he was young. From that day onwards, he devoted himself to hunting them. Over the past three years, he had captured countless criminals and freed several towns from pirate control.
Every arrest convinced him that joining the Marines had been the correct decision.
Then, during an important mission several months ago, Silane witnessed something that changed him.
His unit had been ordered to search for a group of escaped criminals. Capturing them was supposed to strengthen his promotion record, so Silane personally led the operation.
When they finally found the fugitives, however, none of them looked like pirates.
They had no weapons, no ship, and no stolen treasure. Most of them were thin and covered in injuries. Some had iron collars around their necks, while others carried the marks left by chains.
The worst thing is, there were children among them.
Silane immediately realised they weren't criminals, instead they were slaves.
Several Marines raised their rifles and surrounded the group. The escaped slaves screamed and begged for mercy, claiming they would be killed if they were taken back.
"Lower your weapons!" Silane ordered. "These people aren't pirates."
Before his subordinates could obey, a rear admiral stepped between Silane and the slaves.
"Captain, stand down."
"Sir, they are civilians."
"They are the property of a World Noble."
Silane stared at him in disbelief.
"People cannot be property."
The rear admiral's expression hardened.
"Don't do anything foolish. Just carry out the orders given to you by your superiors."
Silane wanted to refuse.
His hand even moved towards his sword, but he stopped when he noticed the other Marines watching him. If he resisted, his entire unit might be labelled traitors. The escaped slaves could also be caught in the battle.
In the end, Silane stood aside. He watched the Marines place chains around the captives and drag them back towards the ships.
One little girl looked at his white uniform before asking a question he had never forgotten.
"Aren't Marines supposed to save people?"
Silane couldn't answer her. For months, he buried that memory beneath his duties. He hunted more pirates, completed more missions, and focused on earning his promotion.
Then Dragon livestream forced him to confront it again.
"The World Government uses the Marines as its lapdogs."
Silane sat alone in his office, staring at the commodore insignia lying on his desk.
His promotion had been approved that morning. All he needed to do was accept it during the official ceremony.
In the past, he would have considered it the greatest achievement of his life.
Now he could only think about the enslaved girl.
A knock came from the door.
"Enter."
A young lieutenant stepped inside and saluted.
"Captain, Marine Headquarters has issued a new order. We are to arrest anyone who distributes a recording of Dragon livestream."
Silane's expression darkened.
"Even civilians?"
"Yes, sir."
"Are you sure about this?"
The lieutenant hesitated. "The order says anyone suspected of spreading dangerous propaganda may be detained."
Silane looked at the commodore insignia again.
The World Government wasn't trying to disprove Dragon accusations. It was trying to frighten everyone into silence.
"Captain?" the lieutenant called carefully.
Silane closed the box containing his new insignia.
"We will continue hunting pirates and protecting civilians," he declared. "However, no one under my command will arrest innocent people merely for talking about streaming."
"But the order came directly from Marine Headquarters."
"I know."
"The higher-ups may cancel your promotion."
Silane was silent for several seconds.
His entire life had revolved around becoming a high-ranking Marine. If he refused the order, three years of hard work could disappear in a single day.
However, if accepting the promotion meant placing another chain around an innocent person's neck, then he didn't deserve it.
"Let them cancel it," Silane replied.
The lieutenant stared at him in surprise.
Silane rose from his chair and placed his Marine coat over his shoulders.
"Pirates killed my mother, I will never forgive them, and I will never stop protecting people from them," he said. "But that doesn't mean I have to obey every corrupt order issued by the World Government."
For the first time since the slave incident, the heaviness inside his chest began to fade.
Dragon might have exposed the corruption within the Marines, but Silane refused to abandon justice because of it.
If the World Government treated the Marines like obedient dogs, then he would be the first to bite through the leash.
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