TYING LOOSE ENDS

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Will and Valerie screamed as they fell down the building.

"Will, you crazy asshole!"

"Shut up and help me cushion our fall!" yelled Will.

Both of them thrust their hands towards the ground and flared their fields. It struck the debris-ridden base and managed to slow their fall by a fraction. Will and Valerie crashed into the rubble with a boom that sent dust and rocks flying.

Will's HUD blanked out for a second before flickering back on.

'Critical damage detected. Operation power reduced to 0%. Reserving all power for protection mode.'

'William Dunn eliminated.'

Will groaned as the shock of the crash vanished and his body registered the pain. The initial dampeners had done only so much, and his whole body felt spongy and bruised.

Valerie burst into a tirade of curses that would have made even their drillmasters submit. Will glanced at her and found her mech grayed out. She too had been eliminated.

He cleared his throat. "Good match, Val."

Valerie paused in her curses and slowly turned to him. "Will... if I could move right now, I would be kicking your ass."

"I guess it's a good thing that you can't, then," said Will.

Silence enveloped them as they lay amidst the rubble, their mechs pinning them to the ground.

"What now?" asked Valerie.

"Beats me," answered Will.

They watched the overcast sky as time went by. After a few long minutes, the siren went off.

"Congratulations," the announcer's tinny voice sounded in the arena. "Victory to Team Iron and Team Rampart."

Will glanced around to find the source of the voice. It sounded like it was coming from the building over.

Valerie sat up, and Will found that he could finally move. The protection mode was discontinued, and the mech stopped resisting his every action. Will groaned as he clamored to his feet. Valerie did the same beside him and offered him her hand.

"Good match."

Will nodded and shook her hand.

"Now I've got to look for my team," Valerie sighed and pointed behind him. "And you need to meet yours."

"Will!" came a yell from behind him, and he spotted Remy and Becca hurrying towards him.

Becca stomped towards him, furious, her mech creaking with every step.

"Hey Becca, Ow!" Will winced as Becca punched him on the shoulder.

"You absolute dumbass!"

"Relax, will you, we won!" said Will.

Becca punched him again. "There's no point in winning if there's no one around to celebrate afterwards."

"Alright, alright." Will raised his hands placatingly. "I just thought it was a good idea."

He winced when Becca raised her fist again. "I was just buying some time, that's all... I did buy enough time, right?"

Remy gave a thumbs-up. "Yup!"

Will let out a breath. "That's good."

"Attention all cadets," the announcer called once again. "Report back to base. Register your mechs and prepare for egress."

"Come on, let's go," said Will, glad for the distraction.

"Don't think you're off the hook yet," said Becca.

"Come on, you too!" Remy chuckled and dragged the two forward. "Instead of bickering about stuff that doesn't matter, shouldn't you be thanking the real MVP of the match, aka me?"

Will burst into laughter, and Becca shook her head.

They walked back to the base, laughing, and joined in with the rest of the class registering their mechs. After a quick diagnostic check, they were herded back to the military buses and driven back to Fort Thornfield.

The ride back was slowed by the icy roads and by the time they got back, the cadets were exhausted. The grueling matches and the travel had taken their toll. After a quick dinner, they crashed into bed, and Will was out like a light before his head even hit the pillow.

Night passed, and the morning came quickly. Will was up long before the morning call, and for a while, he laid in bed trying to fall asleep again. After about half an hour, he gave up and decided to get up. He finished his morning routine and headed out of the barracks.

Will's breath misted in the morning air as snow fell from the sky. Light peeked in from the east as the first rays of dawn hit the fort. It was barely morning, and the quad was already busy. Cadets jogged with drill masters shouting instructions.

Will watched the scene in silence and breathed in the crisp air. It would probably be the last free, unfiltered air he would breathe before going back to the Tower.

"You're up early."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Will looked to the side and found Valerie Maxwell standing next to him.

"I couldn't sleep," said Will.

"Me neither," said Valerie.

They stood in silence, watching the squad make their rounds. Cadets circled the quad, marching with the drill master's cadence.

"You know..." Will began, chewing on his words. "Oddly enough... I'm going to miss this."

Valerie chuckled. "I know what you mean."

A beep came from her side, and Will saw Valerie holding a field reader to her arm. The device had finished its reading and flashed the result on its screen.

"What's the reading?" asked Will.

"I'm nearly at the initiate stage," said Valerie.

Will considered the device for a moment before he held his hand out. Valerie looked amused but didn't object. She placed the reader in his palm. Will held it to his arm, and after a few seconds, the device beeped.

Will squinted at the screen and read out the result. "Halfway past the novice stage."

Valerie gave a small laugh and shook her head.

"What?" asked Will.

"Nothing," she said simply, plucking the reader from his hands and glancing at her slate. "It's almost time."

The speakers around the barracks came alive. The bugle of the reveille was loud and clear, echoing throughout the barracks. Will waited for the last notes of the call to fade, then let out a breath.

"I'm heading inside. You coming?" he asked Valerie.

"No," she said. "I would like to stay here for a while. I haven't finished saying goodbye."

"Alright," Will smiled and gave her a wave. "See you, Val."

"You too, Will."

With one last look at Valerie, Will headed towards the administrative wing. Halfway through the walk, he received a call from Remy.

"Hey, Will, where are you?"

"Just outside," said Will. "You still in the dorm?"

"Yeah," Remy grunted, and there was the sound of him banging something. "I'm packing."

More sounds of rummaging came through the slate before Remy spoke again. "By the way, the results are out. We all passed."

"Nothing surprising there," said Will. "We suspected the entire class would, anyway."

"What do you think they're doing?" asked Remy.

Will gave a shrug. "Beats me. But... we haven't seen Damian and Lawson for a while."

"Yeah..." There was a pause in the conversation as Remy pondered. "Things are certainly getting weird."

"By the way..." Will gave a quick glance around. "Did you get a chance to check the, you-know-what?"

"Yeah," said Remy. "I did have a look. I'm drawing some interesting connections."

"Like?"

"I don't want us jumping to conclusions. Let's wait until the program has finished trawling through the data. I'll have something soon."

Will sighed. "Alright. I'm heading to the administrative office in a bit."

"What for?" asked Remy.

"We've got to submit a report on our project. They need to free up the warehouse space that was allocated for us."

"Boring," said Remy. "Call me when you're done."

Will chuckled. "Okay. See you in a bit."

Will walked down the winding corridors. A few minutes later, he arrived at his destination, and the lady at the front desk told him to wait. He took one of the many empty chairs in the back of the waiting room and looked around.

The chairs around him were empty, and the lady at the front desk was arranging some documents. Past the desk, Will spotted a cadet pacing furiously behind a door. The boy was large, and Will knew who it was before he even caught sight of his face. Rowan Kade circled the door, looking pensive.

"What is he up to?" Will muttered. The office door sprang open, and a large man stepped out.

Will's jaw dropped as he beheld the Commissioner. The police chief towered over his son, and Will had to tilt his head up to stare at him.

Rowan stopped his pacing and exclaimed, "Father!"

"Rowan?" The Commissioner looked surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I... have my mech operations course here, Father."

"Hmm." The older Kade rumbled, considering his son. He slipped his coat on and placed a hand on Rowan's shoulder.

"Your reserves have increased, good," said the Commissioner. "I guess there is some use to the military after all. I'll have you tested once you come back to the tower."

"Yes, father," said Rowan. "Why... are you here?"

"I came to see your brother," the Commissioner let out a sigh. "I hoped he would see reason, but he remains stubborn as ever."

Rowan stayed silent, and the older Kade shook his head. "He is wasting away his time here. Besides being associated with... Well... it would be detrimental to his career. Hopefully, he can see past that and move on."

Commissioner Kade checked his watch. "I have to go." He patted Rowan on the shoulder once again. "We will discuss more about your progress once you get home."

"Yes, father..."

The Commissioner patted Rowan on the back and left, his footsteps echoing in the hall. Rowan watched him go in silence before leaving the administrative area with his head bent low.

Will watched the exchange with a grimace. He felt a pang of sympathy for the bigger boy but quickly squashed that down. Whatever his problems were, it wasn't his business.

"William Dunn," the woman behind the desk called. Will nodded and got up from his seat.

For the next few minutes, he cleared up the reports for his mechs and unbooked the workshop space that they needed. Several signatures later, he was free.

"That's it. You are all set," the lady said with a smile.

Will gave her a polite nod and exited the administrative wing.

He made his way towards the dorm. Students milled about in a rush, squaring away their belongings. Will helped Remy pack, and the rest of the morning passed quickly. By the time it was ten, they were outside loading their project mechs into the transport trucks. Will secured the straps around the boxes that their mechs were stored in and stepped away.

"That's done."

"I'll say," Remy wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Now all that is left is some field testing, and the project is over," said Becca.

"Yeah." Will glanced at the gathered cadets. A group of Shield Horns and Stantons were joking amongst each other. Victor got tossed into the mix, and the Shieldhorns hoisted him up in the air. Grabbing his arms and legs, they tossed him up. Victor laughed as he went airborne and waved at Will when he spotted him looking. Will grinned and waved back.

Remy chuckled. "That looks fun. Do either of you want to get tossed around?"

"No," said Will and Becca together.

Remy shrugged. "Anyway, I know both of you are dying to ask. So, ask away."

"Is it done?" asked Becca.

Remy grinned and nodded. He took out his slate and tapped it a few times.

A ping came from Will's pocket. Will shared a look with Becca, and both of them reached for their slates.

Will scrolled through the dozen files that Remy had sent them and opened the main file. In it, he found a list of names.

"What's this?"

"It's a log of everyone involved in the airship," said Remy. "Maintenance, repairmen, pilots, supervisors. I've marked out a few notable ones, but there is one name in particular that you might be interested in."

"Dr. Leibowitz?" Will muttered.

"He was the chief research officer for the entire project. Most of the flights were signed off by him."

"I know him," said Becca.

"What?" asked Will.

"You know him too," said Becca. "Most of our projects reference his work. He is an expert in etherite crystal field adjustments and has been working on artificial multiplanar crystal printing. Last I heard, he was under some military contract."

"He was working for Langen-Huber," said Remy. "It's closely associated with the military, but that's not the interesting part."

"What is it?" asked Will.

"Recently, Dr. Leibowitz had been discharged from his role. There were some allegations of wrongful deaths of military personnel," said Remy. "Leibowitz had been involved somehow, and get this, this wasn't the only one. A lot of people on that list had passed away in the last few weeks."

"Oh my..." Becca covered her mouth.

Will looked grim as he tapped his slate.

"You think we should give our good doctor a visit?" asked Remy.

"Yes," said Will. "But first, I want to know everything about him. Where he lives, where he sleeps, everything."

Remy nodded.

Will looked past the gathered cadets, the armored transport trucks, and the fort. In the distance, Tower Atlas loomed over them, its presence a lot heavier than it used to be. Somewhere in there was a man involved in the deaths of thousands of innocent lives. An expert in artificial etherite crystals and head of a secret project that killed soldiers as well as civilians.

Will clenched his fists. "It's time we brought the fight to them."

They had to find him. They had to find him and get some answers.