Kaiden could feel his heart sink. “You couldn’t rush-order it by any chance?”
Dr. Soni used the tablet in her hand to give Kaiden a quick hit on the head. “Not if I want it made properly, and this is the first time I’ve had to make another order in such a short time. You are responsible for over seventy percent of my stocks usage. The four I administered to you and your friends were the last of my current supply.”
Kaiden looked at Flynn. “You owe me for this.”
Flynn gave him a bemused look. “You act as if it’s your private stock.”
“Might as well be.” He laid his head back on his pillow. “She said I used most of it.”
“That merely means you get your ass kicked more than anyone else in the Academy,” Cameron called from a line of beds across from the trio.
“That means I work the hardest out of anyone here at the Academy,” Kaiden retorted.
“However you wish to spin this, Initiate,” Dr. Soni muttered, causing more snickering and chuckles from Kaiden’s compatriots. “Besides, you’re fortunate I’m so generous. Officer Wulfson did ask me not to give you any more of the serum.”
“Yeah, I remember, malicious bastard.” Kaiden sighed before looking at the others, “See if I bother saving y’alls’ asses again in the next mission.” He looked at the doctor. “Hey, Doc, you said you only used four vials of the serum, but there are five of us.”
Soni pointed across the med bay to the bed next to Cameron. “Your Tsuna friend, Initiate Cage, is being taken care of by Dr. Mortis. I was not sure if the serum would be viable for him in any case.”
Kaiden looked over to see the Mirus doctor running a scanner over Jaxon’s body and the toxin sponges enveloping his face. Kaiden grimaced, remembering his time with the blob, although Jaxon was apparently taking it a lot better than he did. He looked relaxed, his arms crossed while he lay motionless on the bed. Granted, he might be in much more pain than the four of them since he didn’t get Soni’s serum.
“Don’t y’all have any Tsuna medics or doctors? You know, since there’s like a hundred Tsuna students here now?” Kaiden asked.
Soni nodded, “We have four. However, when I told Initiate Cage that I would call one in, he asked that I did not and explained that he would prefer to keep his condition private.”
Flynn moved up on the bed, resting on his elbows. “He’s worried that the Tsuna Conclave or whatever is going to pull them out if anything seems suspicious or even remotely deadly concerning the Animus.”
Kaiden tried to silence him with a frantic wave, but Soni held her hand out to stop him before nodding. “He told me, and I can understand. I was not a part of the negotiations at all, but I was briefed by the head of the board and Professor Laurie when they returned. I can understand their people’s trepidation. The Animus has always had detractors, even when it was first conceived almost eighty years ago. We have had the benefit of seeing the possibilities and outcomes through the years, while the Tsuna went from discovering a new species and trusting them with some of their own with a machine that invades their minds in only a couple decades—a bit of a jump, I must agree.”
“So you’ll keep it a secret?” Silas asked.
“He has no grievous wounds unless Dr. Mortis discovers something we didn’t see in preliminary scans. And while he might be in pain due to his experience with the Animus, this was explained during all the delegations that dealt with bringing them here in the first place. So far, there’s no reason to send a report that I can see.”
“Thanks, Doc, he’ll probably breathe a little easier knowing that,” Kaiden said appreciatively. “If what he does is actually considered breathing.”
“It is, but merely a different method.” She smiled “But I will use this as a convenient segue to ask you about your injuries. You said you all came out of the Animus feeling like this?”
Kaiden nodded, sitting up on his bed. “Jaxon figured that because we’ve been using it so much, our Animus oscillation has gotten to the point where the pain is a bit more…real than it was at the beginning.”
“Plus, we all got blown to hell,” Silas added. “Metaphorically, in our minds, anyway.”
Soni began looking through something on her tablet. “True, but you’ve only been at the academy for three months. For such extreme pain transference, you would have had to use it every day for more than twelve hours at a time.”
“Well, we do use it almost every day, if you count the training, tutorials, scenarios, missions, and private usage,” Flynn stated.
“Plus Cam, Flynn, and me went to preps before coming here. We all spent a little time using the Animus pods at our schools to get ready for admission,” Silas added.
Kaiden swiveled his head between the two. “Y'all are preppies? Doesn’t come across to me…” He looked at Flynn. “Well, except you, maybe.”
“How so?” Flynn asked.
“Kangaroo butler,” Kaiden answered.
“That was—”
“Named after your actual butler, right?”
Flynn was silent for a moment, then he grinned. “Doesn’t mean I’m a fancy bastard or nothin’.”
Kaiden smirked and shook his head. “Nah, you’re a good shot. I’m just messing with ya.”
“Don’t have a high opinion of preps?” Silas asked.
“Guess I just didn’t meet the right people.” Kaiden shrugged.
“How uncharacteristically nice of you to say so,” the raider jeered.
“Cameron is kinda pulling you down.”
“What did you say about me?” Cameron called.
“Don’t worry about it,” Kaiden retorted, looking back at the doctor. “Sorry, what were you saying, Doc?”
She handed her tablet to Kaiden, showing him a list of Animus missions. “Which one of these did you do?”
Kaiden flicked through them, shaking his head. “None of these. In fact, the one we did wasn’t even available until I used the hub.”
“We figured that Chief had something to do with it,” Flynn recalled with a slight shrug that spoke unconcern.
“Chief?” Soni asked.
“My EI.” Kaiden reached under his bed and brought out his jacket. He fished out his oculars from one of the pockets and put them on. “Hey, Chief. Wake up, partner.”
“I never sleep.
“That…sounds oddly eerie,” Kaiden murmured. “Hey, can you bring the map up on the doc’s tablet?”
“At this point, it feels like I’m bringing the evidence to my own trial.” Chief sounded fretful, and his color gained a slightly greenish tint.
“Stop making yourself seem so guilty. Just bring it up.”
“Say please.”
“You damn shiny melon, would you just do it?”
As Kaiden ranted, seemingly to himself, Soni watched with raised eyebrows. She noticed Flynn and Silas looking at him with annoyance rather than surprise.
“Does this happen often?” she asked.
Silas shrugged. “Often enough for us to get used to it. It’s kinda funny every once in a while.”
“A bit bizarre the first few times,” Flynn admitted. “But I guess when your EI is your mental roommate, there’s gonna be some tension every now and then.”
“I suppose that can certainly explain the rise in blood pressure,” she mused, tapping a finger on her chin.
“And shove your damn EI chip into a smart toaster and beat it with a baby sledge,” Kaiden finished with a huff.
“I didn’t hear a single please in all of that.” Chief grunted, his eye half-closed in disdain.
Kaiden felt his eye twitch, and he released an annoyed sigh. “Would you please upload the mission?”
“Well, I can’t bring the full thing up unless I’m in a hub, but I can cast the info into her tablet.” The EI vanished from the display and appeared on the corner of the tablet screen. “Here ya go.”
A page showing a few pictures and several boxes of info appeared on the screen, and Kaiden handed it back
to the professor. She took it and began reading, scrolling down the screen as if looking for a particular box before her eyes went wide. “Well, that certainly explains it.”
“Explains what?” Kaiden asked.
“Oh… Good God almighty, no wonder y’all got out of those pods feeling like you were about ten different kinds of fucked up!” Chief exclaimed.
“What did you find?” Kaiden asked again.
Soni returned the tablet to Kaiden. He grabbed it and looked at it, his brow furrowed in concentration. “You see this?” Soni asked, pointing to a box on the bottom right corner of the screen. “These are the connection settings which dictate the level of intensity one may experience in the Animus and help with sensitivity. They are usually calibrated by the advisors during tests and training. For private usage, you are limited to a set number of maps and missions with preset connection settings, usually on the lower end, especially for Initiates.”
Kaiden looked at the options.
Synchronicity: 5
Tangibility: 7
Equilibrium: 9
Kaiden coked his head. “These numbers are pretty low.”
“It’s on a one-to-ten scale, not out of one hundred,” Soni corrected him dryly.
Flynn moved over, and Kaiden tilted the screen so he could see. The sniper’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
“Equilibrium of nine? What the bloody hell?”
“Nine? Seriously?” Cameron sputtered, leaning up on his bed.
Kaiden felt more than a little dazed—maybe even shell-shocked—as he handed the tablet to Silas, who looked at the screen for a moment before shaking his head. “That’s a pretty damn big puzzle piece.”
“What am I missing here?” Kaiden asked.
“Prep training,” Flynn jeered. Kaiden narrowed his eyes at him.
“While there are more advanced options in the connection setting, synchronicity, tangibility, and equilibrium are the three primary functions,” Soni explained.
“Synchronicity is kind of self-explanatory. It helps with syncing the Animus and the mind, makes the integration easier, and helps with things like field of view and controlling the five senses. It’s usually kept mid-level,” Silas explained. “Tangibility helps with things like object density and the feel of things. It makes things feel more real. It’s not all that important in the beginning, so it’s usually kept lower for initiates. That’s why things usually disappear after we kill or destroy them.”
“Equilibrium is a bastard, though,” Flynn continued. “It controls how we experience the sensations inside the Animus. Synch helps with getting in the Animus and tang helps during your time in the Animus, but equi keeps it all flowing. It’s how we can actually learn and gain SXP, but it also makes the experience more visceral.”
“Are you guys trying to get gold stars or something?” Kaiden grumbled.
“They are trying to pass along helpful information. I would suggest you listen,” Soni advised.
“I’ll put it like this—synch builds a bridge to a world, tang builds that world, equi gives it life,” Silas clarified, handing the tablet back to Kaiden and then reaching for his own jacket under his bed.
“So, with it set so high, it means that the barrier between us and what the Animus is projecting is lessened. Which is why, when we got blasted to bits, we were all so battered when we left,” Flynn concluded.
“I getcha.” Kaiden nodded, sitting back on his bed and looking over the connection settings again. “What do we usually have it on? The hits I’ve taken so far feel real enough.”
“Typically, it’s only between three and four,” Soni stated.
“Good Lord,” Kaiden marveled. “Yeah, I can see why we all felt like we actually got blown to bits.”
“I’m not sure if y’all would have even been able to get out of the pods if it was at ten.” Chief appeared back in Kaiden’s display. “I might have actually felt it.”
“You didn’t notice it before we got out of the shuttle?” Kaiden asked.
“Nah, partner. EIs aren’t in charge of loading in the map…well, the personal ones aren’t,” Chief stated. “We simply help with the transfer. I don’t automatically check all the mission or map info unless asked.”
“So it’s my fault, then?” Kaiden sneered.
“It’s what I default to, usually. It’s the safe bet,” Chief remarked. “But in this case, I would think whoever allowed you access to that map would really be the one to blame.”
“Gave me access to the map?” Kaiden inquired.
“An initiate should not be able to load this kind of map,” Soni stated firmly, taking the tablet back from Kaiden. “Honestly, no student should. These sorts of maps are for the third-years—the victors. Even then, something like this is a no-win scenario, only used for specialized tests.”
“Well, I guess that’s something to look forward to in a couple years.” Flynn chuckled, and Soni gave him a surprised look before coughing sheepishly into her hand.
“No-win scenario, huh?” Kaiden whispered. He turned and hopped off the table, putting on his jacket. “Thanks for the assistance, Doc. I’ll be heading out now.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?” she asked. “We’re not sure how you’ll feel when the serum wears off.”
“We managed to drag our crippled asses here without it, so I’m sure I can make it back to my dorm without a problem,” Kaiden said as he walked past her. “After I see a certain someone.”
He walked over to Cameron. “You gonna be all right?”
“I’ll manage.” The bounty hunter sounded cheerful though his expression spoke irritation. “Besides, gotta get better for our next suicide mission.”
“I’ll let one of y’all pick the next one, maybe get Raul or Luke to join us.” He considered this for a moment. “At least bring Amber. That healing gun of hers would be great.”
“No kidding,” Cameron agreed.
Kaiden walked over to Jaxon. “I’m heading out now, Jax. Thanks for the help. I’ll see you when you get back to the dorms. It’ll be lonely with only me in the second level bunks.”
Though the blob was still on his face, Jaxon gave him a thumbs-up. Kaiden wondered if he would have the same blue lines he had after he used the sponge, though they probably wouldn’t be as prominent considering the Tsuna’s skin was a darker blue.
He waved to the others as he left, exiting the medical bay and then the building in quick succession.
“Chief, could you send a message to Laurie and tell him I’m on my way?”
“It has been a while since we’ve seen him. Maybe he’ll put up streamers.”
Though Kaiden could believe the eccentric professor would be that giddy to see him after more than a month, he was hoping that he would have more than decorations.
He was looking for answers.
Chapter Ten
“Kaiden my boy!” exclaimed the excited professor as Kaiden stepped out of the elevator and into his office.
“Hey, Laurie, how you been?” he asked, his tone more casual than honestly caring.
“Working my fingers to the bone. The board has had my team and me working on dozens of different projects of late.” The professor looked momentarily distracted as he poured some wine into a small rounded glass. “Frankly, I’m beginning to wonder if they are just giving me busy work.”
“Not the kind of jobs you were hoping for?” Kaiden inquired as he drew one of the cream-colored chairs in front of Laurie’s desk back and took a seat.
“It’s menial labor. Maintenance, for the most part, a few projects on the expansion of the island, some new scenarios and maps for the Animus, but nothing with dazzle.” He sighed and sipped his wine.
“Maybe they don’t want you working on the next death machine while the council is working on alien relations? A giant walking carrier-tank hybrid has a way of making the out-of-worlders a bit skittish.”
The professor scoffed. “Wulfson told you that the machine from the test was mi
ne?”
“Eventually,” Kaiden muttered, sucking his teeth after the admission when he caught Laurie’s scowl. “He only mentioned it in passing a couple of weeks back.”
“I thought he was going to use it for personal training, not drop it in the middle of the Soldier Division Test,” Laurie protested.
Kaiden waved him off. “It’s all good. He told me he was the one that put it in. It gave me a bit more…incentive to pummel him during our sparring match.”
Laurie placed his glass on his desk and rested his chin on his closed fists. “How has that been going?”
“Well enough. That gigantic asshole keeps me on my toes. I’ve grown kind of fond of him over the months. Although if he has done the same for me, he apparently shows love through electric rounds and knees to the head.” Kaiden snorted, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms. “Tough love is bullshit.”
“But he hasn’t left any permanent damage? He gives you time to rest, correct?”
“A day a week, maybe. I’ve been patched up by Dr. Soni every few days. Nothing I can’t handle.” He looked at Laurie with a suspicious eye. “After all, it wouldn’t be a good deal for him if the important part of his deal was in broke pieces, would it?”
Laurie took another sip as he looked away from Kaiden. He finished his drink and sat back in his chair. “So he informed you of that, did he? I should have been more mindful to remind him to keep that a secret.”
Kaiden smirked. “To be fair, he only told me that you pointed him in my direction. I figured the deal out for myself.”
“Quite impressive of you. How did you manage that?”
“Well, you just confirmed it, for starters.” Kaiden’s smile widened as Laurie frowned a little. “But I had to figure something was going on. Wulfson said that he wanted to restart his little Scandinavian dojo, or whatever you would call it, but I’ve been his only focus since he dragged me in there. Besides, it seemed a little weird to me that he suddenly wanted to take on an apprentice or ward or whatever the hell he considers me right out of the blue.”
Laurie’s frown turned into a small smile. “I certainly approve of your deduction skills. You grow more dynamic every time I see you.”
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