Attendance at Fortescue Military Academy M1 Y:2142
House Thoth, Squad Leader, Squad Zero
M1 Rank: 1/1275, Tier 3 M-Rank: Null
Term: 2, Round: 1
Daedalus Operating Capital: 130,000 bitcreds
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Vannier left with Picard, Barran, and Axel-Zero. It would buy Daedo more time to chat, if he needed it, as the Gauntlet start times were staggered over the forty-five-minute session. Although the AR enemies would appear respectively to the user engaged, it was best if the cadets weren’t running into each other physically.
“Sounds serious,” Stanley said when the three of them were alone.
“No. Not in the scheme of things,” Daedo said.
“So what is the problem, issue – whatever?” Cillian asked. He wasn’t trying to be pushy; he was just curious.
Daedo took a deep breath. Vannier had informed him of Mace’s dedication and fondness for chem eng, and it added to the dilemma in his decision-making process.
“It starts with our specialisation needs,” he began. “Master Nader wisely had us create a specialist field list to be filled by squad and Daedalus members. The scope was for a team to design and build mechs, including weapons. So we created this list.”
He shared the extended version with them, which contained the ancillary roles.
“Hmm,” Stanley hummed as he read and studied the list and assignments.
“I see,” Cillian said after a minute. “Go on.”
“I had initially assigned chem eng to Mace,” Daedo began. “But when we got back for term two, Master Nader had found and brought in a cadet from Cambridge who has gone a long way down the chem eng path. He is talented, experienced with the chem eng specialisation, and grounded in propulsion.”
“Modern propulsion has more to do with physics than chem eng, Daedo,” Cillian stated. “But go on.”
“The new cadet, Jensen – there is nothing really wrong with him. He lacks in piloting, gunnery, and physical, but that can be overcome with effort. He has the determination and a good attitude, so I don’t see this as a long-term issue.
“We also need a seventh, someone who can fill one of the specialisation roles. Mace is smart, she can switch to metallurgy. The negatives are that Mace will have wasted time spent on chem eng and that Jensen has not committed to the squad. He will make a decision tomorrow.”
“So what’s the issue?” Cillian asked.
“Your head is telling you one thing, and your gut is telling you another. Isn’t it, Daedo?” Stanley observed.
Daedo considered what Stanley said. He hadn’t narrowed it down to that level. He was just feeling uneasy with the situation. Like something was wrong.
“You’re not used to following your gut are you?” Stanley added.
Daedo nodded slowly.
“There is more, but let me tell you something, Cadet.” Stanley’s colonel demeanour was coming through. “There is no such thing as gut instincts. Don’t misinterpret that statement. You must listen to your intuition; it is often sharper than an analysis of data. Your instincts are shaped by your experience and subconscious processing of all information. Not everything has a one or zero attached. There is information you have consumed that is giving you this gut feeling of wrongness. It’s only that you are unable to quantify it at this stage.”
Stanley paused before adding, “Now tell us the rest of the story. We have time.” He did, and Cillian could always leave if he was pressed for time.
“Mace likes chem eng,” Daedo began. “She is working herself into the ground on the assignment I gave her and Jensen on Monday. I only gave her the same assignment to act as a baseline and check on Jensen. It was possible that he didn’t work out at all, and we could still use the work that Mace is completing. In each scenario, it is not a wasted effort.”
Cillian nodded. “She is a valuable, proven member who likes the specialisation. But that alone should not discount the new recruit. He should be given a chance; it’s not his fault that he came in term two and not term one.”
“Is there more, Daedo?” Stanley asked. He would be disappointed if that was the only issue.
Daedo shook his head. “It’s hard to quantify. There is something about Jensen that isn’t …” he stopped and thought for a minute. Then he said, “We met someone on break. A girl, So-Ra Kang, and she built this astounding pro league mech. Her structure and armour were light-years better than the competitors. She had attitude, and all her father seemed to care about was creds. But it was understandable given their circumstance.” Daedo touched his finger to the bench, pushing and then curling his hand into a fist. “She was special. Just as Vannier and Mace are special in their own ways.”
“Barran, Picard, and Axel-Zero are talented, but not special, as you deem it,” Cillian observed.
Daedo nodded sadly.
“Just as Jensen is talented, but he is not special,” Stanley deduced.
“Let me be devil’s advocate,” Cillian said. “Why does Jensen need to be special? Isn’t talented good enough?”
“It’s something Master Nader said,” Daedo answered. “She said it’s up to us. We are the ones who will protect the planet.”
“She didn’t literally mean your squad alone, Daedo,” Stanley said softly. “It’s up to all of us.” Unlike the adults in Munich, Colonel Martin took the threat seriously. But that was part of his job.
Daedo shook his head. “No. I am fairly certain she meant us.”
Stanley said, “That’s a problem for another day. Just focus on what’s in front of you right now.”
“I have a question,” Cillian said. “Why aren’t you having this discussion with Master Nader?”
Stanley waved a hand dismissively. “No, it’s okay, Cillian. I offered to be a sounding board for any issues on my last visit.”
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Cillian nodded. “Yes. But that still doesn’t answer my question.”
Daedo looked uncomfortable. “You met Master Nader, Mr Marais,” he said, to which he received a nod from the man. “I wanted outside advice before confronting her on this issue. If that’s what is needed.”
Cillian explained to Stanley, “She can be quite intimidating.”
“And she is the one who found and recruited Jensen,” Stanley said, understanding the situation. “Let’s move back to selection. Is it just So-Ra Kang who is stopping you from choosing Jensen?”
Daedo had to think about the question. He eliminated Kang from his mind and just considered Jensen, Mace, and the decision with her isolated. After a few minutes, he answered, “No.”
“You would rather delay and find someone special, or is there something else about Jensen?” Stanley asked, narrowing down the core issue that was holding Daedo back.
“I would rather someone special. But …” Daedo paused a second. “There is something I can’t put my finger on.”
“Something that makes you uncertain or uncomfortable?” Stanley asked.
“Uncomfortable,” Daedo said. Without knowing the reason, he knew how it made him feel.
“I know how I would approach your problem,” Stanley said. “But I think you should just leave it at this discussion and work it out yourself.”
“He asked for advice!” Cillian protested. “Stanley, don’t be such a stickler for self-development.”
“No. It’s okay,” Daedo said. “Just discussing it with you two has been enough. Thank you.”
“Good.” Stanley stood up. “And Daedo – keep backing yourself.”
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Daedo got back in time to complete the Gauntlet. M1TS0 continued to dominate M1, and Daedo was working out a strategy to beat the M3 cadets as well. The six veterans of term one were still able to achieve scores that would have ranked them in the top fifty of M3.
“Where’s Jensen?” Daedo asked Vannier.
“He decided to skip tonight’s Gauntlet,” she said. “He wanted to focus on the project since it’s the last day.”
Daedo nodded. “Check on him. Make sure he’s still in our quarters.”
After a moment, Vannier reported back. “Yes. He is.” She paused a moment and then asked, “Did you think he left the academy while we were out?”
Daedo shrugged. “Just wanted to make sure.” They walked for a moment before he added, “I want to see Master Nader.” He told Vannier his plans, and she agreed.
“We’ll go together?” she asked.
“It might be better if I go alone for this one,” Daedo said.
At first, Vannier was hurt for not being wanted, but she quickly got over it and thought about Daedo’s reasons. What he planned to do was probably best without a witness that would influence Master Nader’s chain of command or sense of propriety. Finally, she nodded sadly and said, “Okay. I understand.”
After requesting a meeting, Master Nader made Daedo wait until 0030 before admitting him. Usually, he would be asleep by that time, but the academy ran twenty-four hours a day, from Monday to Friday. Sleep was when a cadet took it.
“Squad Leader,” Master Nader said formally.
Daedo saluted. “Master.”
“You called this meeting. Please begin,” she said.
Daedo did not doubt she knew why he was there. She didn’t have spies at the workshop – none that he could detect. But she was always well aware of what was happening in the academy. Unnervingly so.
“I would like to discuss the seventh cadet position,” Daedo said.
“Cadet Jensen, you mean?” Master Nader asked. “I am sure you have done enough to impress the new recruit that he will decide to stay.”
Daedo peered at the blank face mask. Then decided that a straightforward approach would be best. There was no point playing games with Master Nader; her title of ‘Master’ was well-appointed when it came to negotiation.
“I will not be approving Cadet Jensen’s recruitment,” he informed her.
She stood quickly. The act itself was intimidating because of its speed and unexpectedness. She closed on Daedo slowly and loomed over him. She was over 1800 millimetres tall – more than a head and shoulders above him.
“And what makes you think you have a say in the matter?” she said softly with a hint of threat level ‘Nuclear.’
“Technically I don’t,” Daedo said. His emphasis on the word ‘technically’ was more than enough when it came to dealing with Master Nader.
Master Nader supplied the remainder of his reply. “But there is nothing stopping you from leaving this academy and applying to another?” She didn’t want to leave the threat unsaid.
Daedo angled for another strategy. “If I am going to be a leader, I need to be able to make decisions that matter.” It wasn’t about this decision. It was about taking control of his squad and life as a whole, wresting it from Master Nader, who had assumed that control.
“Cadet, I applaud your initiative, but there are things at play beyond your experience and comprehension,” she said with significantly less venom.
“Master. You explained that you had assessed all potential cadets on the planet to join our squad. It is difficult to understand how you accomplished this impressive feat.” Vannier had taught him the benefits of using praise. He didn’t expect it to move Master Nader, but the truth was the truth. “However, data alone cannot compare with peer-to-peer evaluation. We have spent the past four days with Jensen, and given all the information I have at hand, he is not the optimum replacement for the seventh position.”
“Please present the information that informs your decision,” Nader said. “Take as much time as you need. This will be decided one way or another before you leave this office.”
Seizing on the opportunity to have input, Daedo collected his thoughts and engaged Myrmidon to present vids of certain events. He began with the vision of Dead Beat taking a pounding from Smack Ninja and continuing to fight. The impressiveness of Dead Beat’s durability had been such that the mech attacking him almost broke itself doing so. He then showed the small amount of data he had collected on So-Ra Kang and the fact that she had developed the compounds that made Dead Beat what he was.
He moved to his interactions with Jensen – the ones that led to his feeling of unease – and finally to the results of Mace’s efforts in chem eng. Before finishing the presentation, he showed his conversation with Colonel Martin regarding gut feelings and the information that contributed to it.
“Master Nader,” Daedo said aloud, “while Jensen may be talented, I do not believe he is special. And if you allowed me the choice, I would prefer to take special. I believe So-Ra Kang to be a genius in her field.”
He stopped for a moment and then summarised with his key point. “But even if she didn’t exist, there is an element in Jensen’s psychological profile which I would prefer was kept out of Squad Zero and Daedalus.”
“Are you able to describe this element?” Master Nader asked evenly.
“It’s my opinion that there is an increased chance of betrayal from Jensen. I do not think his lack of commitment is a purely precautionary decision-making process,” Daedo said. With his current level of behavioural studies, experience, and the guidance from Colonel Martin, that was the extent to which he could define his primary concern.
“Your conclusion is that it is likely he is untrustworthy and that you have a better option,” Master Nader summarised.
“Affirmative, Master Nader,” Daedo said, slightly disgusted with his own performance. She had succinctly summarised, in one simple sentence, his entire presentation in a way that he could not.
Master Nader had walked back behind her desk and sat down during the presentation. She now leaned forward, hands flat on the desk with her arms spread out straight before her.
“Cadet Daedo,” she said slowly. “You expect me to believe that in one trip to Munich, by pure chance, you stumble across the best candidate on the planet. Better than any I can find with the data on every M1 cadet across 120 academies?”
“Master Nader, I cannot confirm So-Ra Kang is the best candidate on the planet. What I can attest to is that she is a better option than Jensen. And I would like to point out that she does not attend any academy, so she did not exist in your data set.”
Master Nader continued to push Daedo’s resolve, peppering him with obstacles and queries. “How is she going to pay for academy tuition? Has she agreed to join your squad or Daedalus? Other than her ‘special’ talent with metallurgy, if she isn’t currently at an academy, how will she perform across the other subject areas? Can she pilot? The pilot of that mech you showed was significantly below par.”
“So we are in agreement,” Daedo said cheekily.
“Cadet, nothing has been decided,” Master Nader said sternly.
“Master Nader, you would not be raising all these objections regarding Kang unless you have moved past Jensen,” he observed.
“Cadet, your assessment may not be one hundred per cent accurate. But you are correct with your initial point. You are the leader. My role is to guide, support, and protect you.”
Daedo was stunned.
After a full minute, he asked Myrmidon to play back her words. What she’d said was satisfying, but it made no sense. She was a master at a military academy – in every way his superior officer with all that entailed. She was technically his guardian during the term.