You are one of the many workers at the Chronicler data retention center. You job is to track down and remove information that might later inconvenience the System, and you are fairly good at what you do. Your terminal is busy assembling data about a recent military incident, and as you wait, you decide to skim the file's contents.

It contains life-long information about a particular soldier. Reading through the various records, you get to know the individual intimately. He’s an orphan, raised by a kindly couple of citizens. From a young age, he wants to become part of something larger than himself, so he joins the Force as soon as he’s old enough. His exploits are noble. Again and again, he selflessly defends the weak. His dedication to his own personal strength is clearly greater than his loyalty to the System. As you read on, the commands he must follow begin to grate with all he stands for. Inevitably, the soldier’s orders stand in opposition to the correct, the good, and the moral.

He does what is right.

And he was executed five minutes ago.

The terminal completes its hunt. All the journals, and the footage, and the histories – all evidence that this courageous man ever existed has been assimilated and compressed into the tiny folder in front of you. A small, glowing message appears on the screen.

Are you sure you wish to delete this archive?

-

Cowards stand behind megalomaniacs. The courageous stand before them.

This is an entry for the Fortitude themed contest being held for the anthro gallery.