Lorna was waiting for him at the academy's main gate.
She stood beside the transport that would carry him to the shuttle port, her hands clasped behind her back, and when Ning approached with his bag over his shoulder, she straightened and gave him a crisp salute.
Ning returned it.
"I don't have any advice for you," Lorna said. "I suspect you'd find most of it useless anyway. So I'll just say this."
She looked at him for a moment, and her expression softened.
"Come back alive."
"I'll do my best, Instructor."
She nodded, and stepped aside to let him pass.
As Ning reached the door of the transport, he glanced back across the academy grounds one last time.
Near the corner of one of the academic buildings, a short distance away, a familiar figure stood watching him.
Liam.
He stood alone, without any of his friends around him, his hands in his pockets and his expression unreadable. He did not move toward Ning, and he did not call out. He simply stood there and watched.
