Page 17 of Strays
“Any alternative options to resolve the situation safely?”
“No, sir.”
“In your report, the hostage sustained minor bruising. Is that correct?”
“Yes, sir. Kory caught him before he hit the ground.”
The commander turns to me. “Good pack response.”
He finally looks at Balls. “This really seems open-and-shut, Captain.”
Balls’s face turns blotchy. “That’s not necessarily the case, Commander. Dr. Morsel raised the possibility of hormonal destabilization—”
“Did she?” Eneas asks, turning to the doctor. “On what basis?”
Dr. Morsel’s hands flutter over her notes. “We… we can’t confirm or deny a surge occurred—”
Deputy Commander Leon cuts in, his sharp gaze fixed on her. “And in six years of service, has Officer Larsen ever tested out of range?” His voice is flat, but his expression full of quiet disgust.
She doesn’t answer. Her eyes dart to Balls, as if waiting for him to jump in.
Eneas checks his watch, then tilts his head. “Unless someone has actual evidence, I suggest we conclude. All in agreement that the use of force was within policy?”
Silence.
He stands. “This hearing is concluded.”
He looks at the three of us. “Officers Larsen, you are cleared to return to fullduty. You’re dismissed.”
We’re so stunned it takes us a minute to realize we should leave the room.
Wordless, we head back to our desks in a daze. By the time my brain catches up enough to realize I haven’t even thanked the commander, he and his brothers are already gone.
MEMORANDUM
TO: United States Department of Defense
FROM: Dr. Steve Bureau
SUBJECT: Strategic Assessment of the Military Aegis Board and the Status of Homo Gregalis Autonomy
DATE: October 23, 2019
I submit this memorandum in response to your request for an independent expert opinion on the continued autonomy of the Military Aegis Board (MAB) and its place within the Department of Defense infrastructure.
I was a young academic when public unrest surrounding the treatment of gregalis first reached critical mass. At the time, the Human Protection Act (HPA) was still in effect: a law grounded, however imperfectly, in the recognition that uncontrolled gregalis, particularly aegis males, posed significant challenges to public order.
The HPA allowed for the preemptive detainment of aegis individuals exhibiting unstable behavior and incentivized service in military and law enforcement institutions as a pathway to legal rights and protections.
Excesses occurred. There were incidents, some highly publicized, in which aegis individuals were mistreated. These cases, though statistically rare, ultimately resulted in the repeal of the HPA. This was an overcorrection. In our haste to distance ourselves from past abuses, we removed a critical regulatory mechanism, and it was in that vacuum that the Military Aegis Board was born.
The creation of the MAB was framed as a limited concession: a means for gregalis representatives to oversee their own integration into armed forces and police departments. However, what began as a nominal body quickly evolved into an autonomous organism.
Though technically nested within the DoD, the MAB operates with full executive control over gregalis personnel and receives an annual budget allocation equal to 0.5% of the total Department of Defense operating budget. Such funding is staggering for an institution with no human oversight.
In my professional assessment, the existence of the Military Aegis Board, with its full autonomy, funding structure, and legal authority, constitutes an institutional anomaly and a dangerous one.
CHAPTER FOUR
