Thane sat up in bed, poking the remnants of his meal. Today he should be discharged from the hospital if there weren't any post-surgery complications. Looking down at his hands, Thane moved each finger individually, remembering the joy he felt after waking up from anesthesia and being able to move.
After Thane signed the contract from the BAF, it had taken three weeks to arrange his operation. Thane had spent three whole weeks paralyzed from the neck down. It was horrible. The only thing that kept him going was the knowledge that it was all temporary.
However, Thane now had a much bigger problem on his hand. He was in debt and a great deal of it. Thane owed nearly four and a half million credits to the BAF, which he had to pay back as long as he was a free person.
Which only mattered if he somehow could enroll in the Academy, where they would teach Thane how to fight the mutated creatures on the surface referred to as monsters or Dread Beasts.
According to what Thane had learned in school, the Dread Beasts were created after an extinction-level event called the Great Unveiling happened hundreds of years ago. Due to overpopulation and pollution from the human civilizations at the time, the atmosphere of Earth collapsed, exposing the surface to solar rays and radiation.
The last remnants of human civilization fled to underground bunkers and entered suspended animation. When they emerged, the planet was inhabitable, but flora and fauna exposed to the radiation had mutated, becoming Dread Beasts.
However, the humans weren't defenseless as they also changed. A select few among the newly awakened were changed, they became faster and stronger, and each obtained a unique power to control a portion of reality.
Because of this ability, they were named Arbiters, who would fight to protect humanity from the Dread Beasts.
Thane recalled the story that had been told nearly a hundred times in his youth. While the tale had some believable parts, Thane found the story a bit too preachy for his liking.
In the present, being an Arbiter was much less about protecting humanity, as very few Dread Beast attacks had reached the underground city of Bastion. But they were still needed for two crucial jobs, obtaining Dread Cores and collecting resources from the surface, as the Council banned mining inside the city.
As far as Thane knew, Dread Cores were produced by Dread Beasts who had evolved to a certain level. Supposedly they were the condensed form of pure energy and could be refined into the electricity that powered Bastion.
Any details regarding the refining process or anything related to the science behind Dread Cores, Arbiters, or Dread Beast were kept behind many locked doors. Most metaphorical, but Thane didn't doubt that somewhere there was an archive that held all sorts of secrets.
'Maybe one day I'll be able to find out,' Thane thought. He was determined to make it into the Academy. What Aayana had said struck a chord with Thane. This was an opportunity he had to capitalize on.
Even if he somehow didn't go to jail after failing, his civilian life was over. Victor was undoubtedly rotting in a cell or dead, creating a significant power vacuum on the lower floors. Thane wouldn't have a crime lord's protection like before, so he would quickly be killed or worse in the chaos.
Thane's only hope, as much as he hated to admit it, was getting into the Academy. After signing the contract, Thane received a ping from the BAF regarding the application process.
Opening the document again, Thane read over the words for what seemed like the hundredth time.
'Congratulations, you have applied to become an Arbiter. The testing will take place on January Seventh, 3565. It is to be understood that each applicant must sign an NDA upon arrival. Failure to adhere to this rule will automatically result in the applicant forfeiting the right to apply to the Academy and further legal reparations.
As for the qualification of becoming an Arbiter, the Academy is looking for cadets who strive in all walks of life. The application process will consist of a basic written test regarding basic military rules and regulations, a physical screening to assess if the applicant is physically sound, and a final test that requires no preparation. Each test will have a pass or failure benchmark. Applicants must pass each portion of the test to be enrolled. While many of you have been preparing for this test for most of your lives, do not falter or misstep. There is a reason why only 5% of the total applicants are accepted.'
After reading the ping, Thane was sent in a loop for quite some time, not because of the secretive nature of the application process but because only 5% were selected each year.
The first two tests seemed simple, and as the ping stated, most had been training their whole lives, giving them plenty of time to get in the prime physical condition and learn every archaic facet of the military.
That only left the third test as the eliminator. Thane had spent many restless nights wondering what the third test could include eliminating 95% of the applicants. However, Thane also realized he had less to fear than he first thought; it hadn't taken long for Thane to find a document online that covered every Military procedure he could possibly need.
In the week before his surgery, Thane was confident in his ability to pass the first test, but as a precaution, Thane tempered his study of blatant rules and terms by reading books on warfare. While Thane doubted the Academy would test their applicants on how to move troops using guerilla warfare, he needed any edge he could latch onto.
This is why he had been hard-pressed to stay in bed the last few days recovering from his surgery. The physical screening would be Thane's Achilles heel. With his condition, anything above a light jog would have Thane struggling for breath. But he had to improve, Thane had more than a decent understanding of how the body worked, and he believed if he could get his hands on the right equipment, there was a chance of him passing.
The door opened, and Margret entered the room. Margret was Thane's assigned nurse, the same one who had installed his PRD, "Well, Thane, all your results came back, legally. I can't keep you here any longer. You're free to go after you sign out."
Thane almost jumped out of his bed, grinning, "Thank you, Margret. As much as I hated my time here, you did everything possible to keep me comfortable. For that, you have my thanks."
Margret looked stunned for a second, not expecting the kind words from the teen, "T-thank you…."
Walking out of the hospital, Thane paused, 'I need to go back to my apartment and grab my stuff. I just hope I won't get recognized.'
---
[Across the Street]
"I have eyes on Thane. He just left the hospital. Shall I pursue him? Of course, Ms. I will follow him from a safe distance.
---
After calling down a lift car, Thane entered the automated vehicle and set his destination. A few minutes later, the lift car stopped outside the megacomplex.
Stepping out, Thane looked around for the usual clusters of thugs and found them blissfully absent. Walking quickly, Thane tried not to look around too much as he made it to one of the elevator crates.
When his apartment door closed behind him, Thane let out a sigh of relief before he began to run around the room. Thane stuffed most of his belongings, including his backup mask and several gadgets, into a suitcase.
Luckily he didn't have much, as in a matter of minutes, he was ready to leave, but Thane paused as he made for the door as the shuffling of feet caught his attention.
Pulling up his PRD, Thane hacked into the complex's Leyline and navigated to the camera across from his door. Like he thought a group of thugs were outside Thane's door, each armed and dangerous.
"Thane," A gruff voice shouted outside his door, "We know you're in there, come on out. We need to have a word."
Looking closer, Thane thought he recognized some of the thugs' faces. They had worked for Victor before he was imprisoned.
Cursing, Thane ran back to his desk and began to rummage around for some parts, "That wasn't a request, boy! Don't make me knock down this door."
Thane looked up from his task, cursing again, "Fine, fine, give me a minute. I was in the shower. Let me get dressed."
Smiling as he finished his rush job Thane ran towards the door before attaching a plate-sized device to the metal with a magnet. Thane pressed a few buttons and heard a small beep, "Alright, I'm opening the door."
Grabbing his suitcase, Thane ducked into the bathroom, kneeling to affix two small metal discs to each of his shoes, "I hope these have enough power."
A second later, a boom, and Thane's room trembled. Running out of the bathroom, Thane could see out of his room as the door had been blasted off its handles.
The walls around the doorway were blackened, and smoke rose from the smoldering material. Running out the door, Thane looked to his left and right to see the thugs lying on the floor but recovering quickly.
Thane clutched his bag to his chest without a second guess before getting a running start and vaulting over the balcony barrier into the open air.