With my arm healed and from what I can tell no side effects or lasting issues I am cleared for every physical activity. Since I got my cast off after all my classes are done I head to the nearest gym. There is a student gym in the city. I find it deserted except for the attendant. They greet me and I do the same before starting my arms day because I've neglected them for too long. I focus more on repetition than heavyweight. I lift my own body weight for sets of ten. I find this more useful for function, even if it usually doesn't give the best definition.

Afterward, I return to my dorm and after showering go right to bed content.

I wake in the morning to my alarm and get around quickly and head to the field. I am sore so I get a small stretch in as I wait for the old fuck and the girls. I am still surprised at the utter lack of care for their bodies all the solar do or don't do. Yet still, they seem to have decent physiques. None look strong or muscular, but they all look slim in build. Maybe it's something they do on their own? I lose this train of thought as the old man arrives I greet him happily and he does the same. He then says to me solemnly,

"I'm sorry young man but this early morning stuff isn't good for my old bones. I know it's a lot to ask you but can you run this morning class for me? You seem to be the only student on campus who cares about their physical form. I'm not quitting and leaving it to you, but every now and then I won't be here. Im eighty and honestly I'm surprised I survived this long."

I nod and reply,

"Of course sir. You've earned rest. I'll run it in accordance with what they need."

I give a devilish smile and he returns it saying,

"Remember son, they arent soldiers. I don't know how much stress they can handle."

I reply,

"Well, I ain't a soldier either. So we will have to find out."

He laughs and begins to hobble away as the girls arrive. He disappears around a corner and I turn around and put my hands on my hips saying,

"Alright ladies, because no one else comes to this class we are on our own, and since I'm getting rewarded for getting you two fit and combat-ready looks like we are gonna have some fun"

I give a wide smile as I am about to return all the frustration they have inflicted upon me. I see Seraphina gulp and Genevieve shudder a little. I decide to go easy on them. Since I have most of my conditioning back I am ready to go, and since I'm healed I feel like a thousand dollars. I start them simple, no problem. Just three laps of the two-mile track. We have an hour of this class and by God, I'm gonna use it. The run takes about forty minutes for me, but the girls struggle out just below an hour and Seraphina collapses onto her knees.

I stand above them sweaty but having already calmed my breathing I say,

"Good job, That was a rough first day of light running. Class is over but I can't wait for our future endeavors together. Genevieve through raspy breaths says,

"You're a monster... This is for the grief we gave you isn't it."

I jokingly act surprised and say in my most sarcastic tone,

"Noooooo, I'm only here to help you become better fighters to bring glory to your empire. Why would I do any form of revenge for unprovoked demands?"

She just shakes her head as I say my goodbye and head back for a shower. After my shower, I get a good breakfast in before heading to Dusty's class. On my way to class, I feel oddly happy today. Maybe it's from the good workout earlier? Maybe it's just that I have finally started to get into the grind and figure out what I need to do.

To say Dusty was happy to see me well is an understatement. Her combat training class was overall really fun, I was only hit hard three times during demonstrations. I rather enjoyed the sparring we got to do. Mostly because no one but Dusty and for a single blow Genevive could even land a good hit on me. Not that I'm fast, I'm just tricky and try to take the fight to the ground at the soonest possible moment. This allows my grappling expertise with ju-jitsu and wrestling make me a monster on the ground.

Stolen novel; please report.

Class ends and I go get myself some lunch. I decide to eat some Mexican. After my lunch, I get to the hangar. Wendigo is fully repaired since I last piloted him. I go over to a technician and ask,

"How bad was he? "

The man shakes his head and responds,

"Pretty bad, surprised you survived that shit. You must be a lucky son of a bitch."

I chuckle and reply asking,

"Not hardly, but anyways anything new added? "

He shakes his head and replies,

"We added an extra heat coating on the outside but that's about it. Really can't do too much against the heat of the sun."

I nod thanking him and climb my ladder. I slide down my little hole and sit in my chair. I look around and see everything is just as it was before. I kick the pedal and feel the agony take me over as my vision disappears. When it returns and the pain subsides I do a system check.

(you good retard?)

[yeah, we got fucked up there. Proud of you for saving that girl. ]

(yeah, thanks. It didn't feel right to leave her.)

[yeah, neither of us would feel right... I still haven't figured out the shields since I spend most of my time lobotomized when you are gone, ya know that rouge AI prevention method and all]

(yeah makes sense. You know if there is any way to keep you at like half power or sleep mode? I mean just so you can still do systems and whatnot when I'm not here.)

[There may be a way. Is your tablet on right now?}

(yeah I think)

[Imma see if I can connect to it.]

There is a buzzing sound that fills my hearing and it suddenly stops.

[I'm in, and I think I just jailbroke it too. I can't get into it right now but I think as long as it is on it can offload some of my processing power which will allow me to work and think without you, but I think that may be it}

(promise you won't go Skynet?)

[I promise, plus why the fuck would I want to nuke the world, I live here too. Plus remember I am you, just another part that you lost. Trust me, we don't have a reason to destroy the world.]

(okay, good... you think with this off-grid thing you can trickle some memories that are blocked?)

[maybe... I'll have to be careful that's grounds for automatic termination]

(what the hell has Kassandra done to me?)

[it's honestly better if you don't know... trust me...I'm sorry]

Wendigos voice drops and sounds sad

[I can't help us, I really want to... fucking bitch]

(I agree)

As the AMS comes fully online we end our conversation. I move away from my spot and head outside in a slow lazy gait. The sun hits my metal skin and I feel its warm rays. I feel really good. Honestly a good day despite the bad conversation I had with Wendigo. Why the hell would Kassandra suppress memories? Is it to keep the AI alive, or is it to suppress me?

I stand at the mustering spot and hang around waiting for class to begin

Eventually, everyone arrives and it's a day of piloting skills and range time. Overall it's a good class day, mostly cause I get to blow shit up. I guess aside from the first class it is simply just time to work and train. Just basic class. Eventually class is over but before we leave Dusty gives an announcement,

"Alright, listen here. In about two months we will begin our school-wide tournament. Since you all are freshmen your tournament is the last one. This tournament is one for training, and two to rank you among your peers. Since you are in my class I expect you to do the best as a class. Yes, the class with the highest amount of victories is the champion. I think there are fun rewards but can't be sure. Therefore I want you all to work your asses off in training."

There is a low murmur of chatter over the open channels before we are dismissed. I put Wendigo back into his spot and dismount. I painfully climb from my AMS and quickly get over it. Once on the hangar floor, I head back to my room and put back on my regular uniform before heading to classroom classes.

Again classes are easy to follow and understand. It is even made easier in history class when you lived through the main event they teach about. I do my classes and go get supper after eating some Chinese for my supper, After I shower and head to bed.

For the next two months, my life follows this cycle of waking up, working out, during training, class, and bed. During this time I drop a whole two minutes from my two-mile and increase all my lifts by thirty percent or more. The girls appear to actually be fit now, not just slim built anymore. They can actually do the runs now without puking or falling down exhausted.

At the end of the second month, I have completely returned to my peak now. I even have increased my vertical which is impressive considering my metal feet. I feel amazing. Wendigo also further increased his understanding of the shielding systems and how to power certain sections. Apparently, we can handle five blasts like the one Seraphina hit me with. All this is good news.

As I wake up on Sunday my only day off each week I get a buzz on my handheld. It's the announcement for the tournament. It tells the seeding of the seniors and gives projected tournament outcomes. I am impressed at how in-depth the rankings are.

Dis regarding this I steel myself to train even harder leading up to my bouts. I refuse to lose. Not for Kassandra, earth, or anyone else. Purely for the sake of competition... I love competition, and no one is as determined as me.