the military academy is the closest thing to meritocracy stronghold had to give—davi de carvalho, secret service officer, wrung every goddamn opportunity he could from it. rising through the ranks, assignment after assignment proved him to be a good soldier but a sharp mind. the mind’s crowning achievement: a revivification of encryption algorithms for secure radio and text communication in his service as a signal officer. in real easy terms: if stronghold’s gonna be a tried-and-true fortress, for it to stand unbreakable in a broken world, the fortress has gotta have iron doors to stop those insurrectionists pressing their ears up close to listen in.
make it so they know nothing at all.
a smooth repartee and political savvy have secured davi’s place not on the beat but behind the scenes in stronghold’s secret service. way back, early academy appraisals noted pragmatism and drive below an easygoing exterior. but he can sweet-talk it all too and he’ll tell it like this: the infected are a threat to every soul in stronghold, sure, but there’s a sickness that can come from the soul too. jabberwockies, eclipse, they’re a different kind of infection that can’t always be solved with a bullet.
but those early appraisal reports singled out other things too. a potential for hesitation when he had a gun in his hand. that dash of old world machismo. below that cool exterior lies a compulsive need for control at odds with a desire for competition.
you gotta be good at what you do to get far, right?
