Jake Walker/Counter Case

## Traces of Memories #1

> *Colonel Jake Walker's personal record.*
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To celebrate Delta Seven becoming an official standing unit of the States of One, Lieutenant Colonel Jake Walker takes his subordinates out camping outdoors. Jake falls asleep and has a brief nightmare but is awakened by one of his men, who inform him of an incoming call from HQ. Jake is annoyed at first but becomes uneasy when hears that his father is involved.

## Traces of Memories #2

> *An important figure's out-of-office activities.*
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Jake calls Kyle Wong to tell him that he's coming to work today even though he is already very drunk at a bar. Eddie Fisher joins him at the counter, but Jake tells him off as he hates mercenaries.

Jake eventually dozes off and dreams about the time his now-deceased father was trying to teach him how to shoot a rifle. When he wakes up, he sees that Eddie is still next to him and had been listening to him talking in his sleep the whole time. Jake rambles on how he his father was a money-grubbing mercenary who practically abandoned him and the rest of his family, blaming him for the death of his grandfather when C.O.s invaded their village. Eddie tries to reason that Jake's father may have had hidden feelings that he couldn't allow himself to show to Jake. Eddie himself is constantly trying to keep his terminally-ill daughter alive even when he strongly believes that she would rather spend her last moments with her than to see him go out and make money for her bill; Mr. Walker, he suggests, may have been going through a similar experience. Jake ponders over Eddie's dialogue as the latter leaves the bar.

## Traces of Memories #3

> *Special viewing permission is required because of privacy issues.*
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While visiting his mother, Jake goes into his father's study room and finds his journal. In it, Mr. Walker described his mercenary life during the Grand Purification War, going into detail about the battles he fought and the people he rescued. Mr. Walker wrote that he regretted leaving his family and not being able to save his own father from the Corrupted Objects and was too ashamed to see his wife and Jake after that. He continued to work as a mercenary even after being diagnosed with Corruption Syndrome until he became hospitalized and bedridden. In his last entry, Mr. Walker wrote to Jake that he was proud of him for growing up to be a fine man and apologizes for never being with him.

Closing up the journal, Jake starts to feel guilty for never coming to see his father first and vows to continue his work.

## [Appendix] Personal Evaluation

> *Based on an transcribed interview with an intelligence agent.*
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A Category 3 C.O. is emerging from its cocoon as Delta Seven arrives at the scene of a Corruption disaster. Against Kyle's warnings, Jake drops down from a helicopter, destroys the newly-born C.O. in a single hit and saves the city.

Later at a bar, a witness to the disaster tells the other customers about Jake's feats, though his listeners are in disbelief that a sole Counter was able to take down a Category-3 C.O. in one fell swoop. Mark Finley backs the witness's story and claims that the Counter he is talking about can even take on a Category 4 on his own if he's determined.

## [Record] Proposal

> *This record is programmed to self-destruct in case of emergency.*
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Jake is deflecting live antitank rounds fired at him as part of his training but finds it unsatisfying and not at all challenging. Sylvia Lena Cooper notices he has been feeling unusually anxious ever since his onerous battle against the Regenerated Knight (as well as the other Replacers) and tells him not to feel so weak and disgraceful over it. Yet, Jake insists he needs to keep getting stronger in case an even more formidable enemy shows up and creates a bigger crisis.

Maria arrives and brings Jake to her office where she shows him a blueprint for a prototype Tech Level 5 gear that the Air Force just developed under Kyle's supervision. Maria asks Jake if he wants to test the gear, which is too experimental for normal testing and too powerful to activate for normal Counters, and Jake instantly takes the offer without hesitation.