The notification on Ren's data slate flickered, its pale blue light casting long, rhythmic shadows against the dorm wall.
An Old Friend.
In the world Ren came from, "friends" didn't exist. There were only assets, liabilities, and ghosts. The phrasing was precise, a calculated jab at the carefully constructed wall he'd built around his past. Whoever sent this knew his true identity. They knew about the "room." And more importantly, they were already inside Aegis.
"Ren? You okay?" Anya's voice pulled him back. She was watching him, her eyes sharp. She had the instincts of a soldier, even if she lacked the training.
"Fine," Ren said, his face returning to its default mask of boredom as he swiped the message into a hidden encrypted folder. "Just a system update. Get some sleep. Tomorrow, Rivan is going to try and break us before the sun is fully up."
Training Grounds Alpha – 06:55 Hours
The morning air was biting, a thin mist clinging to the obstacle course like a shroud. Training Grounds Alpha was a cathedral of steel and concrete high walls, electrified wires, and mud pits that smelled of industrial chemicals.
Standing at the observation deck above them was Rivan. He wasn't alone. Beside him stood a woman in a crisp, black officer's uniform Instructor Valerius. She was known for her "attrition rate."
"Cadets of Bronze VII," Valerius's voice echoed over the speakers, cold and mechanical. "This PAT is a standard evaluation of combat readiness. However, due to… administrative adjustments, your course has been recalibrated to reflect 'real-world' unpredictability."
Anya stiffened beside Ren. "Recalibrated? That's code for 'we made it impossible'."
"Look at the first obstacle," Ren whispered, his eyes scanning the field.
The standard three-meter wall had been replaced with a five-meter glass-slick surface, periodically sprayed with water. At the top, automated pressure turrets were mounted.
"They're going to shoot us?" Gage gulped, his face pale.
"Sting-rounds," Ren noted. "Painful, disorienting, and they leave a biometric marker. If you get hit more than three times, the system automatically flags you for 'combat ineffective' status. Total failure."
Rivan leaned over the railing, catching Ren's eye. He offered a slow, mocking salute. He didn't just want them to fail; he wanted to watch them suffer.
"The timer begins in sixty seconds," Valerius announced.
"Listen to me," Ren said, his voice low and commanding. The members of Bronze VII huddled around him. "Gage, you go first at the wall. You aren't climbing it. You're becoming the anchor."
"The anchor? I'll be a sitting duck for those turrets!"
"Exactly," Ren replied. "Anya, Lena you're the sprinters. When Gage hits the wall, he uses his bulk to block the lower sensors of the turrets. There's a blind spot at forty-five degrees. While they're focused on the 'large target,' you two boost each other up. Once you're at the top, you don't keep going. You disable the manual override on the side of the turret housing."
"That's tampering with equipment!" Lena hissed. "We'll be expelled!"
"It's not tampering if you 'accidentally' slip and catch yourself on the housing, knocking the sensor out of alignment," Ren countered. "The rules allow for environmental accidents during physical exertion. I'll be the last one up. I'll draw the final volley."
"You'll get shredded," Anya said, her brow furrowed.
"They can't hit what they can't predict," Ren said simply. "Move."
[START]
The siren wailed.
Gage charged forward. He was slow, but he was heavy. As he slammed against the slick wall, the turrets whirred to life, tracking his large frame. Thwip-thwip-thwip! The sting-rounds pelted his back. Gage roared in pain but held his position, shielding the base of the wall.
"Now!" Ren commanded.
Anya and Lena blurred into motion. Using Gage's shoulders as a platform, Anya launched Lena upward. Lena caught the lip of the wall, her fingers straining against the slick surface. Anya followed, her movements a frantic scramble.
On the deck, Rivan's smile faltered. "What are they doing? They're bunched up! Aim for the girls!"
The turrets pivoted, but as they did, Lena "slipped." Her boot slammed into the turret's rotating base. There was a sickening crunch of gears. The turret jammed, firing wildly into the sky.
"One down," Ren muttered.
He began his run. He didn't run in a straight line. He moved in a jagged, rhythmic pattern that defied standard tracking algorithms a technique he'd mastered in the "room" to avoid automated sentries.
To the observers, it looked like he was stumbling, a clumsy Bronze cadet barely keeping his footing. But to the turrets, he was a ghost. Every time the sensors locked, Ren was already moving out of the frame.
He reached the wall, leaped, and grabbed Anya's outstretched hand. With a surge of hidden strength that made Anya's eyes widen, he pulled himself up and then helped pull Gage who was now covered in red welts over the top.
They cleared the first sector in record time.
"Impossible," Rivan hissed, his knuckles turning white on the railing. "Instructor, the second sector activate the gas."
Valerius glanced at him. "The gas isn't scheduled for another ten minutes."
"They're ahead of schedule," Rivan snapped. "Adjust the 'unpredictability'."
Valerius hesitated, then pressed a button.
In the narrow tunnel of the second sector, a thick, yellow fog began to hiss from the vents.
"Tear gas?" Anya coughed, covering her face. "They're cheating!"
"It's worse," Ren said, sniffing the air. "It's a neuro-paralytic sedative. Low dose, but it'll lock your muscles in three minutes."
He looked at the exit. It was a heavy steel gate, requiring a high-pressure manual crank to open. One person couldn't do it fast enough before the gas took effect.
"Gage, Anya, take the left side of the crank. Lena, get low, the gas is thinner near the floor."
"What about you?" Lena coughed.
Ren looked at the ventilation grate high on the wall. "I'm going to give Rivan exactly what he wants. A reason to come down here."
Ren didn't join them at the crank. Instead, he picked up a discarded sting-round casing and jammed it into the gate's locking mechanism.
"What are you doing?!" Anya yelled. "You just locked us in!"
"Trust me," Ren said, his voice chillingly calm.
He then collapsed to the floor, feigning a seizure. To the cameras, it looked like the "weakest" cadet had succumbed to the gas, and in his struggle, had jammed the only exit for his team.
On the observation deck, Rivan couldn't contain himself. This was it. Total failure. A jammed gate, a downed cadet, and a room full of gas.
"The gate is stuck! They're going to suffocate!" Rivan shouted, though his voice was filled with triumph, not concern. "I'll go down and 'rescue' them. Instructor, record this. It's a perfect example of Bronze incompetence leading to a safety crisis."
Rivan rushed down the stairs, followed by his two cronies. He wanted to be the hero who pulled the "broken" Ren out of the gas, all while the cameras captured Ren's pathetic face.
Rivan slammed his keycard into the emergency override of the gate. The heavy steel hissed open.
"Oh, look at you," Rivan sneered, stepping into the yellow mist, holding his breath. He looked down at Ren's 'unconscious' body. "So much for the genius of Bronze "
Ren's eyes snapped open.
There was no seizure. No paralysis.
In a move so fast the cameras barely caught it, Ren's hand shot up, grabbing Rivan's throat. He pulled the Plata cadet down into the thickest part of the gas. At the same moment, Ren's other hand swiped the high-clearance Plata keycard from Rivan's belt.
"Lesson two, Rivan," Ren whispered into his ear, his voice a cold blade. "Never enter the kill zone until you've confirmed the kill."
Ren shoved Rivan into the corner, tossed the keycard to Anya, and pointed to the exit. "Go! Use his card for the final sector. It bypasses the rest of the traps!"
Anya, Gage, and Lena scrambled through the open gate, the Plata keycard granting them access to the "Elite" shortcut.
Ren stood over the gasping Rivan, who was now truly feeling the effects of the neuro-sedative. Ren looked up at the camera lens, knowing Instructor Valerius was watching. He didn't smile. He didn't gloat. He simply adjusted his collar and walked out of the gas, leaving the "hero" Rivan collapsing in his own trap.
Later that evening...
Bronze VII had passed with the highest scores in the history of the academy for a first-year squad. Rivan was in the infirmary, officially cited for "gross negligence" and "accidental exposure during an unauthorized rescue attempt."
Ren sat in the dark library, the only place he felt at peace. He opened the data slate again. The "Old Friend" had sent another message.
[Incoming Transmission – Encrypted]
[Sender: Unknown]
[Message: Impressive. But Valerius isn't the one you should worry about. The Headmaster has noticed you, Ren. Or should I call you by your real name? Project 004 is officially 'Active' in the Aegis database. They are coming for you tonight. Run.]
Suddenly, the library lights flickered and died. The heavy oak doors clicked shut, the sound of electronic locks engaging echoing through the hall.
From the shadows of the bookshelves, three figures emerged. They weren't wearing cadet uniforms. They were wearing the grey tactical gear of the Academy's Internal Security Force.
And they weren't carrying sting-rounds. They were carrying live ammunition.