"So, Mr. Adyr," Dr. Conrad began, leaning back slightly in his seat, his voice calm and measured, "of course I can't question the decisions a soldier must make in the field—especially when survival and mission success are on the line. I'm not a soldier myself, and I can't begin to imagine the situations you were placed in out there."
He paused briefly, studying Adyr's face.
"But while reviewing the report I was asked to evaluate, certain details stood out to me. You saved 16 lives on that mission—commendable by any standard. But to achieve that... you also had to take many lives. I'd like to talk about how that experience felt for you—what you felt in those moments, and what you feel now."
There was no accusation in his tone. If anything, it almost sounded like a compliment. But Adyr caught the underlying current—the cautious suspicion buried beneath the civility.
Instead of answering directly, he posed a question of his own.
"Do you know how many lives I had to take there?"
