Taking Ownership

Not all trauma and injuries are seen or heard.

Medically releasing from the Canadian Forces was a stark reminder for Jaycee Dela Cruz that a failed training performance, falsely characterized as stolen valour, can injure a soldier more deeply than a bullet. Settling into Toronto and keeping in touch with his close army buddy Derek, Jaycees routine of therapy and city walks is interrupted when a moment of venting online draws the attention of Anonymous—who offers him a chance to pursue the justice he was denied.

Jaycee finds himself caught between moving on to heal and enacting total vengeance on the military. As he researches Canadas deep-seated institutional scandals while struggling to maintain a mask of normalcy, he realizes the military he once swore an oath to serve mirrors the exact cultural and religious hypocrisy of his own family. Ultimately, telling his truth may be the only way Jaycee can reclaim his sense of justice—even if exposing it unsettles the country and costs him the peace he has struggled to build.