Chương 45: Ch. 41 - Old Frenemies

It was nice to see the Academy in a way that didn't mean pass or fail. In a ship where space is at a premium, this building was designated as the most important in the whole colony. The priorities, at least in my humble opinion are skewed the wrong way. Life support should be at the top. But, you can't get shiny objects from life support. Enough wealthy people can dictate what is important and what isn't. Some of the people that live in Z-Block are from old money.

Rich from before the Bastille left Earth with their offspring inheriting that wealth. Others current and former pilots. The only real way to make any type of money in this place. The familiar sliding double doors greeted me like an old friend. The placard of each graduating class hung on the wall since the inception of the Academy. It was a tablet that every three seconds changed to another class. I had been part of the forty-second. The single hardest year of my life.

I had just missed the names on the placard from my class and it returned to the inaugural year. I strolled past it, hood up as I walked to Instructor/Dean De Rosa's office. A few wayward glances, but they didn't stop me. Probably because of Caddie that was hovering over my head. He kept "ooing" and "awwing" seemingly every piece of decoration or in-memorium"Truly a fascinating display of human growth," said Caddie.

"I'm seeing students in various stages of post pubescence. But according to my records, you were the youngest."

"I was," I said.

"I'm sure there is someone there might be someone who took my place. But I'm not sure they would pass the first test."

"Could you elaborate," said Caddie.

"Everyone here has passed basic education. But each job has a training it puts on that a person has to pass. You want to be a black shirt, you go to their training. Anyway, people pass basic ed at any age. I once saw a twelve year old pass it and go to research. Smart guy but wasn't a fan of talking."

"Interesting," said Caddie.

"I assumed all humans aspired to become Frame pilots."

"No," I said.

"The fail rate is purposely hard because the first quarter, you're competing against your classmates." Instructor De Rosa's office was also his home. In fact, all the instructors lived in the Academy if they wished. Cushy enough job post retirement and it being situated on T-Block, it wasn't the first to be subjected to restrictions. There were hushed conversations inside but it wasn't unusual.

He liked to talk one on one with students with a quarterly progress report or when he felt the need to intervene with a lower performing student. Knock. Knock. Caddie reformed back into an earing.

"Enter," said De Rosa. The metal bulkhead door whooshed open. Inside was the patch of his office but passed the second door would be his living quarters. The left seat was already occupied by a familiar tight brunette bun. My heart sank to the pit of my stomach and felt the cold sweat form on the back of my neck. She turned and regarded me with a familiar grin and nod.

"Ania," I choked out.

"I didn't know you'd be here too."

"It wasn't planned," she said, turning to instructor De Rosa.

"I had to fill the time. Chris didn't want me to Delve so close to us moving into our new home. So I wanted to visit and see if I could help somehow." Chris was her fiancée. They hadn't been engaged long, only since graduation. He always rubbed me the wrong the, especially when he proposed to her when she had literally just gotten her jumpsuit and pin. She was still on the stage and I was next to get mine. The cheers in the crowd and that brief awkward moment before answering, I almost felt bad for her.

It was clear on her face, it wasn't what she wanted. Not during her graduation. But Chris beat to the drum of Z-Block wealth and could impose his own rules, like visiting the Academy whenever he wanted.

"Cool," I gulped, frozen in time by the door.

"Please, Mr. Reyes, take a seat," said Instructor De Rosa. The passage of time barely a reflection on his face. A good looking guy pushing late fifties. His short cropped hair was dark atop and white on the sides. The wrinkles made him seem distinguished, not old. Mom called him a "Don Juan," after some story about a forever bachelor. I didn't get the reference. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Uh, sure," I said. My body stiffened but complied as I slid onto the vacant seat.

"What's up? Why did you want me to come down?" A grin formed on his face.

"Well, before miss Rossetti here was volunteering to put the final quarter students through a sim battle… but now…" He raised an eyebrow with boyish excitement.

"Since you both now have initial delving experience, I figured, with you both here…" He liked beating around the bush when he was about to ask something I'd say no to.

"Spit it out, Pedro," giggled Ania. My eyes went wide with horror that she called him by his first name. But then I remembered we weren't in the Academy anymore. He was an ex Delver now.

"Right. I know Ania is willing, considering she was going to be in the sim all day," said Instructor De Rosa.

"But since you're here… Would you consider… For the benefit of the students."

"Is he broken?" asked Caddie, inaudible to anyone else. I didn't answer. I waited for Instructor De Rosa to get to the point.

"A sim battle between the two best pilots this Academy had that graced its halls." Ania turned to me, expectantly. She rested her chin on her bent wrist with a cocky smirk on her face.

"I dont-" I was interrupted.

"Come on, Stefano!" she pleaded.

"It'll be fun. There was that one time you got a draw against me. It might happen again." I could feel fury grow in my eyes. She did this cute thing of knowing just where to push my buttons. No one could hear it, but I was screaming internally.

"Alright," I said, turning to Instructor De Rosa forcing the fakest smile.

"For the students." Ania shot up from the chair before I could draw another breath.

"Alright! See you out there," she waved and hurried to the sims. The doors closed again, leaving Instructor De Rosa and I to talk for real.

"So," he said, breaking the silence.

"The real reason I asked you here today."

"That wasn't it?" I asked.

"No. It wasn't. I am breaking a myriad of rules right now, Mr. Reyes. You wanted to know more about this variance you reported?" I leaned closer into the chair.

"Yeah. Has any other squad seen them?"

"I am afraid not. No one can confirm what you alone saw." He wrapped a hand around his fist and brought it to his chin.

"I can't say its impossible because we know so little about that place, but it just can't be true."

"I'm telling you, I know what I saw. Caddie?" Caddie reformed into its normal ball shape and hovered over my head.

"Yes, leader?" said Caddie.

"Are you asking me to confirm your sighting? I can of course, but I am your companion. It would be entirely possible that you are compelling me to agree with you for clout."

"Clout?" My eyes narrowed.

"Luna?"

"She is a wealth of knowledge." A thud from the door from the living quarters startled me.

"Regalus!" yelled De Rosa. He sighed quietly and neared his manually sliding door, cracking it open. A bolt erupted from the smallest opening and rushed to Caddie, hovering around him, like a dog sniffing another dog. Caddie followed Regalus as it encircled him.

"Salutations," said Regalus, with a nasally inflection.

"I am the entity known as Regalus by pilot Pedro De Rosa."

"Greetings, Regalus," said Caddie.

"I approve of your given name. Who did overwrite your sentient identifier?"

"It was a human by the name of Isola Parker. A paramour of my-""That's enough," said Instructor De Rosa.

"I told you that you can't freak out every time another companion makes themselves known."

"Apologizes, sir," said Regalus.

"The unit known as Caddie and myself will continue our conversations in private in an exchange of data."

"You guys can do that?"

"It is nice to a put a name to the sequential data of convergence during a requested inquiry," said Caddie and they both went completely silent.

"Um…" I said.

"Okay."

"Don't mind, Regalus. He's a handful sure, but he at least know who is charge," said Instructor De Rosa. He returned to his seat. A pilot wearing their jumpsuit in an office chair looked so wrong.

"So, where were we?"

"The dungeon Gatherer units," I said.

"They are there. Caddie saw them. Luna saw them."

"Look. Let's break this down and stop me when I don't make sense. This is just from my head into what you would hear. This was your first delve as a squad leader, inexperienced and having just lost your entire squad. You saw something that was or could've been easily explained. It was Luna? Luna's first two years removed from the Academy. Then, like your companion said, you could've told him to say what he said. Unless others have seen it, there's nothing more I can do."

"What about Jeromy's unit? He has a Gatherer Frame! I can't make that up!"

"That is unexpected." He leaned back on his chair, staring at the ceiling like he knew something he couldn't talk about.

"What I'm telling you is that, right now, Jeromy is the first and ONLY Gatherer Frame we have seen. It doesn't prove your assertion."

"So then the Dungeon makes a Gatherer Frame. In your opinion, there is no way it could make hostile ones? You realize how that sounds?"

"You and I both know it doesn't work like that," he sighed, and lowered his voice sensing my growing agitation.

"I'm trying to help you, Stefano."

"Fine," I said, changing the subject.

"What about my grievance and charges against SunEater?"

"I'm not a black suit," he said.

"You'd have to ask them. It never touched my desk, but I did hear about it. For now, just let the system do its thing." I leaned back on the seat and threw my head back on the chair.

"You know," I said, my eyes still planted on the ceiling.

"When you asked me to come here, I was hoping it was with better news."

"We as instructors do our best to prepare you," he said. I met his gaze.

"But now you know how little that really means."

"I just didn't think people would sink that low. We are all after the same thing."

"That's the thing, Mr. Reyes. No you're not."