In Dr. Molly Ward's office, Mason Chiba sat across from her at the same desk. Both wore a single earpiece, listening intently —
what came through the headphones was the recorded conversation between Calvin and Shawn in the hallway moments ago.
After returning Hesta to the base last time, Mason had come to visit Dr. Ward specifically.
She accessed the tracking records of the Grangewa brothers inside the compound and quickly noticed a pattern:
when Shawn and Calvin were together, their movements were erratic — they seemed to go everywhere.
But when Calvin acted alone, his routine was remarkably simple: the dormitory, cafeteria, classroom, or training ground. Nothing else.
On one hand, Mason had asked Dr. Ward to remind Calvin to record his future conversations with Shawn.
On the other, she suspected that since Shawn's clearance had been downgraded, he could no longer return to the student dorms or use the internal library.
That meant Calvin would inevitably turn to the base archives instead.
So Mason planted more than twenty listening devices along the route — especially in the blind spot corridor without any cameras —
as a secondary layer of surveillance.
Originally, her plan was to install hidden cameras directly in their current residence.
However, Dr. Ward, who had already compromised her principles once, firmly refused.
Mason had no choice but to let that idea go.
"Shawn's smarter than I gave him credit for," Mason said, taking off her earpiece.
"If all new recruits learned to focus their energy where they're actually skilled,
Dr. Valenti wouldn't have to spend her nights figuring out ways to keep their morale from collapsing."
Dr. Ward's face was pale and tight with anger.
She gave Mason a cold stare before letting out a short, humorless laugh.
Mason's tone turned thoughtful as she reached back to adjust her headset.
"What interests me more," she said, "is where exactly Shawn got those combat ratio stats from.
They sound suspiciously like the files we cooked up a few years ago to bluff the United Government.
They were fabricated, sure, but they're still under classification, aren't they?"
"We're investigating," Dr. Ward said quietly.
"So far, at least six faculty computers inside the base have been breached by him —
but they all belong to lower-level staff with no access to classified material.
From what we can tell, Shawn probably pulled data from external databases,
cross-referenced those with government personnel accounts, and used them to breach higher-level records."
"Of course," Mason said with a dry laugh, as though it were a joke.
"If he'd actually hacked a core staff terminal, he'd either be in prison by now — or promoted."
Dr. Ward glared at her; she didn't find any of this amusing.
"But still," Mason continued, rubbing her chin, "once this mess is over,
you should clarify things with him.
The reason female Mercurials have greater stability is because estrogen helps reduce the effects of blood loss.
That was years ago. With modern field infusion systems, our gender combat ratio isn't nearly that bad anymore."
"Is that really the point?" Dr. Ward asked sharply.
"What else is?" Mason said softly. "At least it means I can relax a bit."
"Relax?" Dr. Ward echoed, incredulous.
Mason leaned back, tilting her chair until its front legs hovered in the air,
rocking lazily as she spoke.
"If Shawn's already planning to move into logistics someday,
he's not going to do anything reckless.
Even if he dreams of defecting to the United Government,
he'll have to think long and hard about how much his record can handle before he makes a move."
Dr. Ward's lips curled in a cold, humorless smile.
"Maybe I should report your remarks to Headquarters —
let them evaluate whether you're truly fit to act as a guardian."
"Oh, I definitely am," Mason replied, her smile tightening slightly.
"Take Hesta, for instance. I've been taking her out for walks whenever I can —
among all active Mercurials, who's a more responsible guardian than me?"
"What exactly have you been doing with her?" Dr. Ward asked flatly.
"Eating desserts, strolling around the old city…"
Mason began counting on her fingers,
"sightseeing, experiencing life — you know, the usual."
Dr. Ward narrowed her eyes, saying nothing.
"You don't believe me?" Mason raised three fingers.
"Dr. Ward, I've never lied to you — not about anything big or small."
But Dr. Ward wasn't in the mood to argue.
Things outside the base were spiraling fast —
what began as peaceful protests in Tanyi City had, under the media's constant provocation,
spread across several other Habitable Zones.
Within District Three, at least a dozen foundations affiliated with AHgAs
had already issued formal warnings and inquiries,
demanding that the base publicly respond to the growing controversy.
Dr. Ward clasped her hands —
a gesture that usually meant she wanted to end the discussion or issue a final warning.
"So," she said, "regarding the custody dispute over Hesta —
what's your plan?"
Mason's tone remained airily casual. "Everything's proceeding smoothly."
"How much longer will it take?"
"That depends on the government's pace.
Right now, the protests are still localized to Tanyi City — too small in scale.
We need to give the other Habitable Zones in District Three some time to react."
Mason smiled brightly.
"To let the storm reach the district's central city, we'll need at least another month — maybe six weeks."
"You think things aren't chaotic enough already?" Dr. Ward's jaw trembled slightly with anger.
"You want the fire to spread to the core city?"
"Stay calm," Mason said, her smile turning faintly cryptic.
"Everything is under control."
Dr. Ward took a deep breath.
"…How far along is the plan, exactly?"
"If luck's on our side, about forty percent."
"Luck?" Dr. Ward's voice sharpened. "And if you're not lucky?"
"If I'm not lucky," Mason replied, "then we're already at ninety."
Dr. Ward blinked, completely confused. "What does that even mean?"
"It means I always have a more reliable Plan B —
though it might be a little less… elegant."
She gave Dr. Ward a bright, cheerful smile.
"As long as things haven't reached the point of no return,
I'll always choose the more civilized, moral approach first.
So please — cooperate with me, Dr. Ward."
Dr. Ward lowered her gaze, face tight with disapproval.
"There won't be a next time," she said coldly.
---
"Basically," Calvin said, "that's everything."
In Dr. Valenti's office, Calvin had just finished recounting Shawn's thoughts about Hesta.
He deliberately avoided mentioning Shawn's long-term plans or his more rebellious opinions.
Sometimes, Calvin thought Shawn's logic made sense —
like when he said they shouldn't lay their entire lives bare to the base.
But other times, Shawn's stubbornness felt maddeningly irrational.
Lost in thought, Calvin heard Dr. Valenti sigh softly across the desk.
His heart sank; he began to worry about Shawn's fate,
racking his brain for something to say that might help —
until Valenti suddenly spoke.
"You've done well," she said gently.
"…What?" Calvin looked up, surprised.
"You've really done well," Valenti repeated, her voice warm.
"You've been handling things with Shawn through all this trouble — that's not your burden to bear."
"It's nothing, really. It's what I'm supposed to do," Calvin said quickly, shaking his head.
After a pause, he added quietly,
"Maybe it's not the right time to bring this up…
but do you know about our first field deployment next month?"
---
( End of Chapter )
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