“Is that damn bird saying things about me again?”
Sasha turned to see Professor Alexander Laurie just up ahead on a bench beneath an evergreen tree in the plaza.
“Well, if you are tapped into my device, you should know,” Sasha retorted.
Laurie stood and brushed some of his long hair behind his ear. “I don’t, but considering how rude he’s been, it was a fair guess. I don’t tap your EI devices. I am too honest and genuine to not respect the wishes of my colleagues.”
Sasha raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t seem to stop you from finding workarounds. I saw the flash in Isaac’s eyes.”
Laurie shrugged. “It’s past ten p.m. The meeting will start soon, and I figured I needed to remind you to get a move on.”
“If I turned up in high dress, you would say I was fashionably late.” The commander scoffed as he walked past Laurie, who fell into step behind him.
“You are quite right about that, but it would be like finding a perpetual energy core—not likely, and not anytime soon.” Laurie sighed as he buttoned his designer jacket in the cold night air. “I’m not sure I’ve seen you wear anything other than uniforms or regulation coats since that dinner before the year started.”
“Haven’t had a need to, and a League meeting isn’t exactly a formal occasion,” Sasha noted.
“Perhaps not, but you should take the opportunity to set an example. Looking your best at every opportunity sends out a message of confidence that the others will greatly respect.”
“I’ll have to remember to wear something more formal the next time Wulfson tries to drag me into another sparring match. I’m sure my dashing apparel will intimidate him.” The commander deadpanned, his tone suitably indifferent to the apparent sarcasm in his words.
Laurie scoffed. “If only! Then I wouldn’t have so much trouble with that hybrid of bear fur and Neanderthal.”
“Speaking of which,” Sasha began, looking over his shoulder to Laurie, “how is his training with Initiate Jericho going?”
Laurie looked in the direction of Wulfson’s personal barracks. “Well enough. He’s shown much physical improvement over the last three months. Increased endurance and stamina, better skills in physical and melee arms combat, along with mild improvement in team coordination.”
“Only mild?” Sasha asked.
“Well, it seems my plan to pair Kaiden with someone more…akin to his personality had a few drawbacks,” Laurie admitted, though he seemed a little sulky, as if the confession were one he’d prefer not to make.
“Wulfson should be excellent in teaching team skills and leadership. He was a captain in the UEA and is currently the Head Security Officer of the Academy. Both those positions require a vast knowledge of what it means to lead and the importance of cooperation.”
“I would agree with you, for the most part,” Laurie retorted. “But Wulfson also had the trump card of…‘encouraging’ those in his employ to follow his rules or deal with the punishments that he personally dished out.”
Sasha stopped, looking back. The revelation intrigued him. “Does he not do this with Kaiden?”
Laurie grimaced. “Oh, he most certainly does, but it would seem that our little trainee is either far too brave for it to keep him in line, or…” Laurie shrugged, leaving the alternative unspoken.
The commander sighed. “Or he’s far too stupid for it to be effective.”
“I’m going to smother you in your sleep, you gigantic bastard!” Kaiden shouted, anger and malice lacing his voice.
“Nice of you to give me warning beforehand. Real generous of you.” Wulfson scoffed. “I’ve only got a few shots left, and I’m ready to turn in for the night, so let’s finish this right quick.”
Kaiden saw Wulfson take aim with his grenade launcher once more and hurried to voice the question that had nagged at him throughout the entire training exercise. “What the hell is this teaching me, exactly?”
“The dangers of high explosives?” Chief suggested. Kaiden wished, not for the first time, that his EI was a little less quick to involve itself where it definitely wasn’t needed.
“I was already quite aware of that,” Kaiden replied.
“Well, think of the calories you’re burning between the quick-steps, dives, and terror-induced adrenaline,” the EI chirped. How did an electronic device manage what sounded like real amusement?
“Why are you so calm about this?”
“Firing!” Wulfson shouted.
“Dammit!” Kaiden yelped, diving behind a holo barrier. The projectile landed a few yards away, shocks sparking out of it and zapping him despite his efforts to maintain cover.
“Ow—what the hell?”
“Tesla grenade, slightly powered down. The holo barrier doesn’t really protect against that. More retardant than resistant.”
“Some forewarning would have been nice,” Kaiden growled his displeasure. “He used bean bags before.” He stood up and hopped in place for a moment as his body spasmed slightly from the shock.
Chief’s eye narrowed, his round avatar jigging a little in the top left corner of Kaiden’s lens. “I might have been more inclined to help you out here if your big mouth hadn’t gotten us into this in the first place.”
“All I said was I wanted something a little different. I didn’t realize this was on the table.”
“Your exact words were, ‘Come on, you drunk blond gorilla, give me a real challenge. Otherwise, I might start thinking Laurie’s got more fight in him than you.’ And you know how much he hates Laurie.”
“Well, okay, that might have been a little over the top, but it was an encouragement.”
“And I’m sure this next grenade is coming from a place of love.”
“Next gren— Oh, shit!” he shouted when he saw Wulfson take aim directly at him. He dove to the left as the man pulled the trigger. The shot flew past him and exploded, sending more electric shocks through Kaiden, who collapsed on the floor.
“This is not going well for you,” Chief muttered.
“I’ve noticed.” Kaiden pushed himself up.
“As much fun as I’m having, lad, time to wrap this up!” Wulfson shouted, cracking the gun open and inserting two more grenades. “Got two shots left, so I’m just going to send both of them at you. Good by you?”
Kaiden rested his hands on his knees, sweat pouring down his face and his breathing ragged. “Are you really asking?”
“Nah, rhetorical question.” Wulfson snapped the launcher’s barrel back in place. “But it seemed impolite not to at least pretend to care.”
“I’ll be sure that no one ever says that the Head of Security is not a gentleman,” Kaiden jeered.
“How nice of you.” Wulfson chuckled. “I’ll give you a moment of respite, let you get the tingles out before I light you up again.”
“So you just gonna take it?” Chief asked.
“Hell, no. I have a plan.” Kaiden drew his pistol.
“You think that little thing is gonna work on him? It’s a glorified stun gun,” Chief mocked.
“I’m not going for him. I’m going to aim at the grenades.” Kaiden pressed down on the trigger and heard the whir of the gun powering up. “Activate Battle Suite, Chief.”
“You sure about this?” the EI asked as the words Battle Suite Initiated popped up on the display. “Even a powered-up shot won’t bust that gun.”
“I’m merely trying to hit one of the grenades. That’ll hopefully touch off the other one and give the geezer some blowback.”
“Bonus points for poetic justice if it works out.”
“Firing,” Wulfson declared.
Initialized appeared on the screen before disappearing. The air around him seemed to slow as Kaiden focused on the barrel of the launcher, taking aim with his fully charged pistol. He could see the moment Wulfson pulled the trigger. He zoomed into the barrel to focus on the grenades, releasing his own trigger the instant he saw the projectiles begin to emerge.
A white streak left his gun an
d collided with the grenade, but instead of electricity, white powder exploded everywhere.
“Is Wulfson joining us as well?” Laurie asked.
Sasha shook his head. “No, he will actually be heading into town later tonight to pick up an old acquaintance of his. I’m assuming he’ll leave right after Kaiden’s training.”
“That is probably for the best. Less competition,” Laurie noted as they approached the Observation Building.
“Will you participate this year, Laurie?” Sasha reached to open the door.
The professor shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. I don’t have the time for such distractions this year. I have other things to attend to.”
Sasha released the door handle and looked back. “This wouldn’t be due to your...interesting findings, would it?”
Laurie smiled. “You do remember our little chats. You always seem so distant that I worry it’s a case of in one ear and out the other.”
Sasha took a few steps back, motioning for Laurie to follow him to the side of the building and into the dark. “Have you found anything new?”
“Well, using the program hiding in Kaiden’s EI, I was able to find a coded signature.”
“Is it the Council?” Sasha asked, taking off his oculars.
“It would certainly seem so. Not many others are capable of hacking into my department unnoticed, and even fewer are able to crack my devices and infiltrate an EI as this did.”
“How did it even get into Initiate Jericho’s EI?”
“It was implanted during the EI startup, disguised as a general application. It was loaded into the neural device itself beforehand.”
“So they were waiting for you to use it?” the commander asked.
“It would seem so.”
“Was it to steal schematics or keep track of you?”
Laurie shook his head. “It doesn’t appear that either of those has merit. I personally went through all my other personal projects and found nothing out of order or manipulated. I had my staff check all the other students’ EIs and devices during updates since then, and nothing else came up.”
Sasha crossed his arms, his eyes closed in thought. “So that would mean whoever tampered with the neural device—”
“Was probably looking for it specifically and is interested to see it in action,” Laurie finished, his tone a little grim for once. A short silence followed in which both men considered the ramifications.
“Have you told Kaiden anything?”
“Not so far.”
“You wiped the EI?”
Laurie frowned. “Of course I did. You’re beginning to make it sound like I’m incompetent.”
Sasha sighed. “Just checking all the bases.”
“Which is why I’m not offended. You were always a little too meticulous.” Laurie snickered, clapping the commander on the shoulder. He was back to his usual cheerful self. “I wouldn’t worry too much for now. It doesn’t seem like they are trying anything on a wide scale. I’ll be sure to inform you if anything else significant comes up.”
Sasha nodded, placing his oculars back on. “They will send a liaison sometime soon. I’ll use that opportunity to get a bit more information.”
“Well, they did start the game without letting us know. Only seems fair to shift the odds in our favor a little.” Laurie chuckled.
“I do wonder, however,” Sasha mused, looking up at the sky as if it might yield a wealth of information, “if whoever tampered with the implant was after the technology or whoever it was attached to.”
Kaiden coughed as he fell to the ground, his vision returning to normal as the Battle Suite deactivated.
“What is this stuff?” he demanded. He looked up to see Wulfson in a gas mask. “When the hell did you put that on?”
“When you were talking to yourself,” the trainer replied, his voice muffled by the mask.
“I was talking to my EI.” Kaiden wheezed.
“I know. I still find it funny though.” Wulfson shrugged.
Kaiden struggled to get up, but he could feel himself getting sleepy. “This is…”
“Knockout gas,” Chief stated.
“You’ll be out for quite a while,” Wulfson informed the downed soldier. He placed his gun on the ground and kneeled beside him. “While you’re still conscious, I should let you know I got a friend coming to town from quite far away. He’ll help me train you and the others for mid-terms.”
“Oh, goody. I hope the others will be just as delighted as I am.” Kaiden struggled to maintain a deadpan expression although his voice was already fading.
“Before you get all snarky, remember who has to carry your ass to med bay.”
“Ooh, more blue stuff,” Kaiden cheered wearily.
“Actually, I told Dr. Soni to cut you off. I’m thinking you’re becoming too dependent on that junk.”
Kaiden raised a shaking hand and beat it weakly against Wulfson’s knee. “You bastard…you don’t…let me have…any…nice things.” The words emerged slower than normal, in a raspy voice before his hand fell to the ground and he passed out cold.
Wulfson sighed as he picked up his launcher and placed it on the rack. “Get some good rest, boy. You’re gonna need it when Raza gets here.” He prepared to call med-bay to expect Kaiden’s arrival. “Considering what he will probably do to you, you might need something better than the blue stuff.”
Chapter Two
When Sasha entered the meeting room, he saw dozens of teachers chatting amongst themselves. It seemed every division was represented, and he noticed a few people he had never seen in attendance before. This year had apparently aroused the excitement of quite a few of the staff.
“Sasha!” a woman shouted. He looked in the direction of the voice to see Mya walking towards him wearing a violet jacket and carrying a matching handbag. “Good to see you finally made it. Busy night?”
“It usually is for me, but tonight I got held up in a conversation with the professor,” Sasha explained.
“Laurie? Is he here?” she asked, looking past Sasha.
He held up a hand and waggled a finger. “He wished to have a quick chat but won’t be joining us this evening.”
Mya pouted. “Well, that’s a shame, but we should hurry and find a place to sit. I think the draft will start soon.”
She moved over to the main table, grabbed two chairs at the far end, and offered one to the commander. He nodded in thanks before taking his seat, and she sat down beside him. “It’s been a couple of years since you participated. Anyone in particular you’re looking for?”
Sasha nodded as he removed his tablet from the briefcase. “A smattering of students among the first years would be ideal, but my first pick will be Initiate Jericho.”
Mya smiled. “Aww, that’s cute, looking out for a student you sponsored.” She then brought out a tablet of her own. “Don’t think you’re going to get him, though.”
“Why would you say that?” Sasha asked, opening an application on the tablet.
She gave him a sideways glance. “You really can’t tell? He’s one of the most buzzed-about first years now. Ever since he took the high score during the Division Test, a lot of eyes are on him. Unless you get lucky and get one of the first few calls, someone is bound to scoop him up.”
“Then I suppose I will just have to get first call,” Sasha stated calmly, seemingly unperturbed by the warning.
Mya gave him a quizzical look before shrugging. “You go ahead and roll those dice commander, but I wouldn’t place all my hopes on only Kaiden.”
Sasha flicked through an index of students on his screen. “I have a number of other choices to consider. I’ll be fine.” He looked at her. “What about you? Anyone particular you are hoping to get?”
She nodded “A few dark horses, but I’m looking for Chiyo Kana. Or Kana Chiyo—last names are stated first in Japan, right?”
“Yes, but that is moot here. Why are you looking for her? Is she one of your assigned students?” Sasha
inquired.
She raised a hand and waved it side-to-side “Kinda. She’s technically Counselor Webber’s but he was out sick when she came in, so I processed her, and we’ve kept in touch,” she explained, tapping her tablet screen before showing it to the commander. “Even if she wasn’t, though, I can’t deny her scores. Plus, she’s a merit SC. That already puts her high on the list.”
Sasha looked at her screen, taking in the infiltrator’s stats, then back up at her. “Weren’t you just telling me not to be too hopeful about getting a highly skilled student right off the bat?”
Mya moved the tablet away. “True, it’s a long shot, but there is a reason I have a better shot of getting her. She seems to have a couple of…issues that might deter some of the others from wanting to pick her up.”
He let out a low chuckle. “Rather odd that a guidance counselor would see the benefits of the troubles of youth.”
She hit him with a quick elbow shot to the ribs. “Don’t be like that. I don’t think they are anything that can’t be worked on or improved in time. However, they might cause some of the more strategic people here to pass over her.”
Sasha rubbed the point of impact. “True enough, but the same could be said for Kaiden and his issues.”
Mya rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to remind me. It seems I’m always getting advisory slips from staff about him. But he is a soldier—they’re usually hot-headed and boisterous.”
“Might I remind you that I was once a soldier at this very academy?” he asked.
“Which makes you a perfect example of personality improving over time,” she declared, her expression smug.
He sighed. “You certainly are gifted at finding silver linings when they benefit you.”
“It is a gift.” Her grin was almost challenging.
“If everyone would please find a seat and prepare the League application on your devices, we shall start soon,” an engineering teacher shouted over the crowd from the front of the room.
“I have a good feeling this year,” she stated as she opened the application and pressed the connection button.
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