Kai leaned forward slightly, meeting her gaze with the same directness she'd shown him.
"No, Commander. You're not wrong. I want to know what happened to him---I've wanted that since I was eleven years old watching my mother try to explain why he wasn't coming home."
The admission hung in the air for a moment.
Then he shifted, his tone becoming more measured.
"But I'm guessing you have your own reasons for wanting the truth about Colorado. For giving me clearance to classified files on your first meeting with a fresh recruit. For being 'tired of secrets getting Rangers killed.'"
He paused.
"So what aren't you telling me, Commander?"
Wolfe's expression didn't change, but he caught the slightest tightening around her eyes---surprise, maybe, or reassessment.
"You need my skills. I need your resources and access. That seems like the foundation for helping each other---as long as we're honest about what we both want. So I'll ask directly: what happened on my father's mission that was important enough to bury for fifteen years? And what do you personally gain from me uncovering it now?"
For a long moment, Wolfe said nothing.
Then, unexpectedly, she almost smiled---a ghost of approval crossing her features.
"You're more like him than I expected," she said quietly. "Marcus asked me the same kind of questions."
She moved back to her desk, pulled out a glass and a bottle of pre-war whiskey from a drawer, and poured herself a measured amount.
"What I'm about to tell you stays in this room," she said. "Officially, Marcus Chen's mission failed because Colorado is a hostile, unpredictable environment and we lost communication. The file was sealed to protect operational security and prevent compromising future diplomatic efforts."
"And unofficially?"
Wolfe set down her glass with controlled precision.
"Unofficially, your father sent one final transmission before he disappeared. It was fragmented, heavily encrypted, and only partially recovered. What we did decode suggested he'd discovered something in Colorado that terrified him---something about the Patriarch's regime, about how they've survived in that frozen wasteland when everyone else has been struggling."
She pulled a small data chip from her desk drawer and held it up.
"This contains the partial transmission. Three people have heard it: me, the previous Ranger General, and the intelligence officer who originally decoded it. The General ordered it classified and the investigation shut down. I was given a direct order not to pursue it further."
"But you kept the chip."
"I kept the chip. Because Marcus Chen was my friend. Because he had an eleven-year-old son who deserved to know his father didn't just abandon him. And because that transmission ended with him saying: 'If I don't make it back, someone needs to finish this. They can't be allowed to---' and then static."
"And now the Patriarch is inviting Rangers to Colorado. After fifteen years of silence."
"Exactly."
Wolfe's voice hardened.
"Which means either the threat Marcus discovered has been resolved, or we're being led into the same trap that took him. Command sees a strategic opportunity---Colorado's resources could change everything for the Rangers. I see a potential massacre waiting to happen."
She slid the data chip across the desk next to the classified folder.
"So here's what I gain from you uncovering the truth: I get plausible deniability. You're a recruit with personal motivations investigating your father's disappearance. If you find something that contradicts the official story, you discovered it independently. I can't be accused of disobeying orders to drop the investigation."
"And if I find proof that someone in Ranger command betrayed my father? Deliberately shut down the investigation?"
"Then you'll have a choice to make about what you do with that information."
Her eyes were steel.
"And I'll have a choice about whether to support you or protect the institution I've served for thirty years."
Kai didn't reach for the folder yet.
"You said three people heard that transmission. You, the previous Ranger General, and the intelligence officer who decoded it."
He paused deliberately.
"Where's the intelligence officer now?"
Wolfe set the folder and chip back down on the desk.
"Lieutenant James Rivera," she said quietly. "Good man. Brilliant with signals intelligence and encryption. He was the one who pulled the partial transmission from the corrupted data."
She took another sip of whiskey.
"Three months after he decoded it and was ordered to bury it, he requested transfer to a forward outpost near the Colorado border. Said he needed field experience, wanted to understand the region better."
"And?"
"Raiders hit the outpost six weeks later. Everyone was killed. Rivera's body was recovered, but..."
She hesitated.
"The attack was unusually coordinated. Professional. Not typical raider behavior. And Rivera's personal logs and research materials were missing---everything he'd compiled about Colorado, about your father's mission. Gone."
"You think it wasn't raiders."
"I think it's suspicious that the one person besides me and the General who knew what Marcus discovered died before he could investigate further. I think it's suspicious that his research disappeared."
Wolfe's voice was hard now.
"I also think I can't prove anything, which is why I'm still here following orders instead of burning down command to find answers."
"And the Ranger General who ordered the investigation shut down? Are they still in command?"
Wolfe's mouth tightened into a thin line.
"General Victor Hardeman. He retired four years ago, officially due to health issues. Moved to a private compound in New Vegas, lives comfortably on his pension and 'consulting fees' from various wasteland factions."
Her tone made it clear what she thought of those consulting fees.
"The current General is Nathan Cross---he wasn't involved in the original decision to classify the file. He inherited the situation."
"But he's maintained the classification."
"He has. Whether because he agrees with the decision, because he's been pressured by the same people who pressured Hardeman, or because he simply doesn't want to reopen old wounds..."
She spread her hands.
"I don't know. Cross is political, plays things close to the vest. He approved your fast-tracked recruitment, which suggests he sees value in having you here. But I wouldn't count on him as an ally if this gets messy."
Kai met Wolfe's eyes again.
"Agreed. We have an understanding, Commander."
He reached for the folder and chip, but didn't pick them up yet.
"With one condition."
Her eyebrow raised slightly. "Go on."
"If I'm going to Colorado---and we both know I will, whether officially assigned or not---I choose who's on my team. I need people I can trust, people whose skills I can verify personally."
He kept his tone professional but firm.
"I won't walk into whatever killed my father and Lieutenant Rivera with Rangers chosen by command for political reasons."
Wolfe considered this, her fingers drumming once on the desk.
"You're a recruit. You haven't even completed basic training. You have no authority to select mission personnel."
"Then give me the authority. Or at least give me input."
Kai didn't back down.
"You said you're tired of secrets getting Rangers killed. I'm saying I won't be one of them because I was saddled with incompetent or compromised teammates. I'll prove myself in training, earn the respect of my peers, and identify people who are both skilled and trustworthy. When the Colorado mission is finalized, I want a voice in who goes."
She was silent for a long moment.
"Partial agreement," she finally said. "You don't get to choose the full team---that's still a command decision based on mission requirements. But you can make recommendations. Submit assessments of recruits and Rangers you think are qualified. I'll give them serious consideration."
Her eyes narrowed.
"But Chen---anyone you recommend, you're vouching for. If they turn out to be a liability, that reflects on your judgment. Understood?"
"Understood, Commander."
"Good."
She nodded toward the folder and chip.
"Those don't leave the Citadel. You can review them in the Archives---there's a secure terminal in the restricted section. I'll have clearance arranged within the hour. Study them, but don't make copies, don't take notes that could be found. Everything stays in your head."
Kai picked up the folder, feeling its weight.
Fifteen years of questions, partially answered.
"When can I hear the transmission?"
"Tonight, if you want. After evening formation, report to the Archives. I'll have someone escort you."
She glanced at the door, then back to him.
"But first, you need to complete in-processing. Report to the quartermaster for gear assignment, then to the barracks. You're assigned to Recruit Bay 3, bunk 7. Your sergeant is Viktor Kozlov---good man, tough but fair. He served with your father too."
"You'll start training tomorrow at 0600. For the next few weeks, you're just another recruit. Work hard, learn fast, don't draw unnecessary attention."
Her voice took on a command edge.
"And Chen---whatever you find in those files, whatever you hear in that transmission, you keep your reactions controlled. People are watching you. Some are curious. Some are suspicious. Some might be actively working against you finding the truth."
She stood, signaling the meeting was ending.
Kai rose as well.
"One more thing," Wolfe said as he reached the door. "Your father's last words on that transmission---'They can't be allowed to...' I've spent fifteen years wondering what he was going to say. What he discovered that was worth killing him for."
Her eyes were haunted.
"When you figure it out, part of me hopes it was worth his life. The other part hopes it wasn't, because that means he died for nothing."
"Commander," Kai said quietly, "either way, I'm going to finish what he started."
She nodded once.
"I know. That's why I'm betting on you. Dismissed, Recruit."