Maria Antonov/Counter Case

## [Record] Establishment Process

> *This information has been obtained through an illicit route.*
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Maria Antonov wants to establish and lead a new anti-Corruption unit within the U.S. military to replace TASKFORCE 1 Enterprise, but the Defense Minister feels they should simply restore the existing unit instead. Yet, Maria is already aware that Congress is already planning to form a unit that is independent from Administration control and argues that she is merely trying to build a case for them. The Minister concedes and admits he, like most others in the Department of Defense, find the Administration to be a suspicious organization and doesn't want the U.S. to rely on a party that don't fully know. Still, he also emphasizes that publicly announcing the creation of a new unit will have negative political ramifications. Undeterred, Maria states she will take full responsibility if she has to so as long as she gets to retire and receive an honorable discharge soon; after all, the Minister is likely to use her, a war hero and a two-star field commander, as a scapegoat anyway should trouble arise. Relieved, the Minister approves of Maria's request and suggests they name the new unit "Delta Seven."

## War Heroine

> *An important figure's out-of-office activities.*
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A lobbyist is negotiating with Maria to sell new anti-Corruption weapons to the U.S. military, but Maria is unimpressed with what he has to offer and doubts Congress will be interested.

Afterwards, Maria meets with a real estate salesperson so she can look at possible retirement homes. During one house tour, the salesperson confides about a rumor that the famed General Maria Antonov is going to move into the neighborhood, completely unaware that their client is in fact Maria herself. As the salesperson rambles on about their admiration for her, Maria grows tiresome and eventually leaves.

Maria returns to Delta Seven's office and sarcastically comments on how civilian society is no different from a war zone.

## First Encounter

> *Extracted from testimonies from the soldiers who fought the war.*
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As Corrupted Objects overrun a small village, a young Jake Walker staunchly insists to his friend that he's going to stay behind and protect his home. Eventually, soldiers led by Colonel Maria Antonov and her deputy Dominic King Reginald arrive and swiftly eliminate the Corruption threat. There, Maria learns that Jake is the grandson of Master Sergeant Johnathan Walker, a retired 30-year veteran of the military; Johnathan was killed while leading the surviving villagers to safety from C.O.s. Before they leave the village, Maria and her soldiers find Johnathan's corpse and give him a honorable burial.

## Outsource

> *Suggestions for effective organization management.*
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Hackers Maverick and Albert steal classified information about the Replacer Incident from the Administration's network but are soon caught and surrounded by Delta Seven forces. Albert panickedly says they'll erase all the data they found, but Maria reveals that she actually wants to recruit the two hackers and have them extract more top secret information from the Administration on Delta Seven's behalf. Maverick and Albert agree to cooperate under the threat of being sent to prison if they don't, and Maria orders them to find anything on the keyword "Tech Level 5."

## [Record] Encounter

> *The source's information has been sealed, but it's still vulnerable to back-tracking attempts.*
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The U.S. Armed Forces covers up Dominic King Reginald's leadership of the Replacer Syndicate and posthumously declares him a war hero at his funeral. Sylvia Lena Cooper and Jake Walker are disdainful over the situation, but Maria and Kyle Wong remind them that it must be kept secret to maintain order and trust among the public.

After the funeral, Maria privately meets with Na Yubin, who gives her a memory card containing information on Dominic's plans and, more importantly, Hilde's Tech Level 5 gear. Shocked, Maria asks why he is handing such sensitive information to her, but Yubin merely claims he shares Dominic's goal of protecting the world and warns that Maria and the others won't survive the "upcoming game" with the gear they currently have. As Yubin leaves, Maria ponders about his claim of wanting to "protect the world."